Geth Infiltrator
by DiChromate
Summary: Shepard has brought a geth onboard, and worse, decided to make it part of the team. Tali'Zorah knows better than to trust the obviously-malevolent machine, but she could be wrong about its intentions. And she could be wrong about how she feels about it.
1. Chapter 1

Tali looked through the data terminal again. She usually did maintenance on the ship when she needed to blow off stress, but the Normandy SR-2 was operating at peak capacity. It mystified her; the old Normandy had a much larger engineering crew, but there was always something for her to do. She didn't trust Cerberus, but they certainly didn't cut corners.

She chewed at her lip, wondering if there was anything else she could do. Maybe she could talk to EDI; learning the specifics of her programming might help the Quarians avoid-

Grunt's laughter pierced the thick walls and crashed her train of thought. She missed quiet, efficient Wrex. Grunt's unpredictable recklessness contrasted sharply with the mental image of the Krogan Wrex had built in her head. She'd killed more krogan than she knew, but-

Grunt laughed again, emptying Tali's low reserves of patience. Taking her frustration out on a krogan wasn't the smartest thing to do, but she wasn't in a logical mood right now. Even if Grunt did break any of the seals in her suit, the clean environment of the Normandy ensured that she wouldn't suffer too much.

Quarians spent their lives in their sealed suits and helmets. Years of living on the contained Migrant Fleet had greatly atrophied the quarian's immune systems. Even a minute of exposure to open air was dangerous. A puncture or tear on a planet where there was no chance of repair was a death sentence.

However despite the advantages they offered the full-body suits tended to make other species wary of quarians. The thick glass plating covering a quarian's face meant that reading their expression was next to impossible.

She barely noticed Engineers Donnelly and Daniels watching her as she stormed out. "She's not going to confront the krogan, is she?" she heard Donnelly whisper in his Scottish accent. She didn't wait around to hear what Daniels thought.

Grunt chose to reside in one of the cargo bays on the same deck as engineering, maybe to remain close to the tank he was created and born in. "Grunt?" she said, storming into the room. "Grunt, I can't concentrate with-" She stopped when she saw who else was in the room. The whole reason she was upset in the first place. Her hands curled into fists when she saw it.

Grunt looked over at her. Krogan were a race of large, thickly muscled reptiles. They had wide faces, two beady eyes, and an unsettling lack of a nose. Their thick backs were covered in plates that rose up over and onto their heads in a large hump that made them look hunchbacked. "Something wrong, Tali?" he asked, with a small smile that said he already knew the answer.

Grunt's companion turned in her direction. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. We apologize for any inconvenience. We were relating the ending days of the Morning War to Grunt," said Legion.

"We called it the Geth Uprising," she said coldly.

The geth looked too much like quarians for Tali's comfort. It was to be expected, of course; the Quarians created the Geth in the first place. But 300 years later and the Geth still retained most of their original design. The three-fingered hands, the arched lower legs, even the geth's featureless, snake-like head and neck and "flashlight" eye mimicked a typical quarian helmet.

Legion was a typical geth, colored mostly a rusty brown, but with a gaping hole on the right side of its torso. It said that it was unnecessary to fix it, but it didn't stop it from using part of Shepard's old armor to patch a similar wound on his right shoulder.

The rounded plates around Legion's eye flicked into a curious expression for a moment before flattening themselves again. The attempt to mimic organic emotion repulsed her even more. "That designation possesses a somewhat negative connotation."

"I know."

Grunt chuckled again. "Billions of lives and all those planets. Lost to machines."

Legion blinked as if the term offended it, but remained silent.

Tali, however, bristled. "Only a krogan would find enjoyment in the suffering of another race."

"Punishment is a better term," he said, turning back to Legion. "What happened next?"

Legion's gaze lingered on Tali for a moment, and then turned back to Grunt. "There is little else to tell. At that point, the remaining Creators retreated into Citadel Space in any ships they could obtain. Geth were content to remain behind the Perseus Veil and build our future." It turned to Tali. "We hope you understand that geth fought in self-defense. We harbor no animosity towards Creators for their misguided actions."

"'Misguided?'"

"You inadvertently created a new race. When you attempted to exterminate it, it is only natural that we should resist."

"Geth are not a 'race,' Legion. Geth are machines. Not even AI. Nothing but a bunch of soulless machines that took what was ours!"

Legion's plates flicked into a hurt expression. "Data indicates Creators first noticed their creations had evolved beyond their control when one platform asked if it had a soul. Evidently, Creator opinion has not changed." The plates retreated into their default position. It nodded towards Grunt, and then Tali. "Grunt. Tali'Zorah." It exited the cargo bay without another word.

Grunt snorted. "I can understand why you hate geth, but Legion is not like the others we've fought."

"I don't care. The quarians lost everything to the geth. There's no reason I should show that thing any kindness."

"Lost everything at the hands of their creations. You can see where the balance of power lies." He shook his head. "The salarians took away our future." He was referring to the Genophage: the salarian's solution to the huge and violent Krogan population. A genetic plague that greatly reduced the krogan's fertility. "But you don't see me throwing punches at Mordin."

"You can see where the balance of power lies," she mocked.

Grunt growled. "We moved on." He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. "Don't you have engines to calibrate?"

Tali marched back to the engine room even angrier than before. She seemed to be the only one onboard who realized what a bad idea it was to have a geth onboard. Everyone else had accepted Legion into the crew without a second thought, but she wouldn't be fooled. Even Shepard, who had fought Geth and seen them kill his comrades, seemed to trust Legion. One day, the geth would reveal his true colors, and she'd be-

"Tali'Zorah."

She started, accidentally mashing a few keys on the console. Whoever was behind her was about to receive the brunt of her aggression. "Can't you see I'm busy-"

Legion stood before her, its plates positioned in an apologetic look.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"We came to apologize. Processes indicate this is a favorable course of action. We realize we may have been insensitive to the history of your people."

"What was your first clue?"

Legion paused, plates shifting position slightly. "The tone of your voice as you revealed the Creator designation of the Morning War."

Tali faltered, offset by Legion's literal interpretation. "I- That was rhetorical."

Legion blinked. "Acknowledged." It paused before speaking again. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, we apologize for any discomfort we caused you during our discussion. We did not mean to upset you."

The lack of emotion in Legion's metallic voice unnerved her. "Why did you decide this was a good idea?" she asked, hoping to gain some insight into the geth's motivations.

Legion paused again. "Geth do not wish hostilities with Creators. Diplomacy offers a peaceful solution."

"But I'm only one quarian."

"It is better than none."

Tali turned back to the console. "Well, I'm not convin- Oh, Keelah." She didn't know what buttons she had pressed, but the screen now displayed code that was intermingled with similar but useless lines. "Look what you made me do! It's going to take me hours to fix all this…"

Legion's eye scanned the screen. It reached out and traced a finger along several lines of data. "These lines can be deleted," he said. It touched another line and traced a path downwards. "This code should be transferred here. This code-"

"If you're so smart, why don't you do it?"

Legion looked up to her for a moment, perhaps looking to see the expression on her face. "Acknowledged." She stepped aside, more out of curiosity than anything, and watched Legion work.

She was astounded. The Geth worked far faster than she did, and seemed to see flaws in the data instantly. After only eight minutes, he straightened up and stepped back. "Complete."

Tali looked at the lines of data. "How- how did you do that all so quickly?"

Legion's gaze flicked from her, to the keypad, to the screen, and then back to Tali. "We observed which keys you inadvertently pressed."

"Oh. Well, Legion, I'll admit; I'm impressed."

Legion's plates shifted position into a look that said it was pleased. "We reiterate our apology."

"…Yes. I… I don't think I fully trust you, Legion, but I appreciate your effort to try and make things right."

Legion nodded. "Understood. Creators and geth have been enemies for many years. We do not expect relations to improve quickly." Its gaze lingered on her for a moment before he spoke again. "Tali'Zorah." He turned and left the engineering bay.

Tali turned back to the console and gave a little shiver. She found Legion's unblinking gaze somewhat unsettling. It tended to focus on things longer than a normal being would, and its long pauses threw her off. It wasn't its fault of course; it was just a computer taking in and analyzing data.

Or was it?

Legion showed an intelligence and awareness far beyond that of an ordinary Geth. They were making remarkable progress.

She shook her head and sighed. It was a shame that someday they'd likely all be destroyed. Sapient or not, the quarians were prepared to take back what was theirs. She'd occasionally received data from the Flotilla regarding their plans. It was still in the early planning stages of course, but it was concrete. Something would be done.

She was reminded of her father, who sacrificed his life and the lives of many others in an attempt to better understand the geth. She would have been exiled for it, if not for Shepard's quick thinking and impressive charisma.

He was going to build her a home on their planet…

Tali hated crying. Her helmet could drain away her tears, but it was an unfeeling mechanical response. Someone crying needed actual biological comfort.

She looked through the data Legion had repaired in an attempt to compose herself. Its mechanical perfection had created flawless code; she found nothing to repair. She stepped back from the console and looked at the dime display on her omnitool. Sleep seemed like a good idea.

Only Shepard had his own bed on the ship. Typically, crew members would share bunks, but had opposite shifts so there was never conflict. Tali had no idea who shared her bunk when she wasn't around, and it didn't bother her. Quarians were used to sharing. She took the elevator up to the third deck and entered the crew's quarters. She lay down on a slightly yielding mattress and stared up at the smoothly-polished bulkhead. Lines of Legion's perfect data floated in her mind as she drifted off.

Tali woke up with a nagging feeling that something was wrong. She glanced at a clock suspended from the wall. Only four hours had passed.

Maybe her omnitool had received a message. She lifted her arm up, not bothering to sit upright. However, the familiar orange glow did not appear.

She quickly moved to a sitting position, almost hitting her head against the ceiling. She pushed her fingers under the fabric that she wore over her bodysuit, searching for the small chip an omnitool projected from. She searched the bed around her, as well as the one below her. It wasn't there.

Now things were serious. She leapt from the bed and walked down the hall, considering suspects. She was so engrossed in her thoughts she didn't notice Garrus until she bumped into him.

"Whoa, Tali, slow down. Where are you headed in such a hurry?" Garrus was a turian, another reptilian race, but not quite as large as the krogans, and with slightly avian faces. They had three fingers and arched lower legs like many other races in the galaxy did, but they also had unsettlingly thin waists and boxy hips. Mandibles covered their cheeks and long frills grew from the backs of their heads.

"It's my omnitool," she said, heart racing. "It's gone."

"Are you sure you didn't just drop it?"

"Of course I'm sure. My omnitool contains too much valuable data to throw around haphazardly."

"Well, whoever took it will be caught. There's no way they can hide on the ship." He moved around her, towards the bunks. "Good luck with that."

"Garrus? Will you help me?"

He stopped and sighed. "I really wanted to sleep."

"You're not saying no."

He sighed again. "Try asking Dr. Chakwas or Sergeant Gardner. They don't move around much, and have a clear view of the quarters. Can I…" he gestured towards the beds. "Go now?"

"Alright, thanks for the advice."

Garrus slipped through the open door, probably to avoid any other requests. Tali entered the medical bay with the intent of questioning Dr. Chakwas, but the room was empty.

"Odd," she said to herself. Chakwas was almost always on duty; after all, you could never predict when an injury might arise.

The door to the AI Core was at the end of the bay. Legion was usually in there; maybe she could question it. Even if it hadn't seen anything, it might indicate her willingness to work towards peace. For the time being, at least.

She opened the doors to the darkened AI Core. Large computers covered the walls, with a small alcove at one end where Legion could be found. "Legion, I was wondering if-"

She stopped short when she saw the orange hologram covering its left arm.

"Tali'Zorah," it said. "We were collecting data to relay to geth."

"…On what?" Legion had its own omnitool, but it didn't seem to be scanning anything in particular. She was suspicious.

It blinked. "Creator plans to attack the geth homeworld."

Now she was very suspicious. She advanced on it, her hand moving towards the pistol at her belt. "Where did you find that data?"

Legion watched her hand move towards the gun, an interested look on its plates, and then looked back at her face. "Your omnitool."

Her pistol unfolded itself as she detached it from the magnetic port on her belt and pointed it at Legion's upper torso. "How dare you. I thought you wanted my trust. I thought you wanted peace."

Legion regarded the pistol for a moment, but did not move. "We do. Evidently, Creators wish otherwise."

"You took our home planet."

"It has been 300 years. It is no longer your home planet."

It took all her self-control not to shoot the geth right then. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

Legion looked past her, at the now-open door to the AI Core. Shepard stood there.

"Shepard, I'm glad you're here," she said quickly. "I caught Legion scanning my omnitool. It was going to use it to send data to the Flotilla back to the Geth!"

"Creators performed weapons tests and were planning to attack us. We believed it necessary to warn our people," replied Legion.

Tali decided to change tactics. "We already made the Geth stronger by rewriting the ones that worshipped the Reapers! I won't let Legion endanger the fleet by giving them more information!"

"Creator Tali'Zorah acts out of loyalty to her people. She was willing to be exiled to protect them. We must also protect our people from the Creator threat."

"You can't let this happen, Shepard," she said, trying to give her voice an edge of finality. "I trusted you, and I worked with a geth on the team, but this is too much!"

But she wasn't sure if she could trust the commander anymore. Shepard had willingly chosen the geth "heretics" to be spared and repurposed rather than outright destroyed.

Shepard looked at them both. Was the commander actually trying to decide who to side with? If Shepard would actually consider listening to that thing, then she would-

"Tali, your father was running brutal experiments. If the test subjects had been human, I'd damn well be telling the Alliance about it."

Tali realized Shepard saw geth as beings, not just machines. "…I know. But if the geth find out-"

"They'd attack," the commander said, finishing her sentence. "Which would cause a war that would leave both the geth and the quarians vulnerable when the Reapers show up. Is that what you want, Legion?"

Legion moved its head, avoiding looking at Shepard or Tali. "We believed it was necessary to relay the information."

"Sooner or later, you're both gonna have to stop fighting this war. Or we'll all end up paying for it."

Tali should have expected this. Shepard had an amazing ability to defuse any situation. Usually it was a good thing, but now…

Legion spoke first. "To facilitate unit cohesion, we will not transmit data regarding Creator plans."

Tali sighed, feeling defeated. "Thank you, Legion. I… understand your intention. What if I gave you some non-classified data to send?"

"We would be grateful." Legion handed Tali back her omnitool, and she slipped it back into her sleeve. Shepard, comfortable that the situation had been resolved, left the room.

Tali tapped a few buttons on her omnitool, looking for appropriate data to share. Nothing Legion wouldn't be able to get off the extranet, but something to make a show for Shepard.

"Thank you for your acceptance, Tali'Zorah. We were only trying to-"

"I know. I heard you. But I'm not doing this for you. I don't want Shepard to think I'm letting my feelings get in the way of the mission."

"Are you?"

"Like I said, I don't want Shepard to know."

Legion studied her for a moment, eye focusing and unfocusing. "You hold the opinions of Shepard-Commander in high regard," it noted.

"Shepard and I are good friends. But you know that; you've read the reports."

Legion continued to stare at her. "Acknowledged."

She tapped a few more buttons before realization dawned on her. "What are you suggesting, Legion?"

It looked off to the side, avoiding her gaze. "Your actions suggest you harbor an attraction towards Shepard-Commander."

Tali was grateful her helmet hid her burning cheeks. "I don't know how you can say that. It's not true."

Legion's eye plates raised, then settled back down. "Apologies." They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Tali spoke again.

"You seemed pretty calm when I pointed that gun at you."

Legion's plates flicked slightly. "We determined the threat was minimal."

"Minimal? I could have killed you right then."

"With shields activated, it would have taken approximately seven shots for you to do any significant damage. We would have incapacitated you before that time."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. Creators are among the easier species to incapacitate, due to the fragility of their suits. The threat of violence is often enough."

"Well what if I didn't stop?"

Legion slowly turned in her direction, perhaps trying to figure out her purpose for asking these questions. "There are a number of variables. Example: if it was required that you be kept alive, we would break your right arm."

Tali now regretted asking.

"If that did not stop you, we would likely break one of your legs. At that point, most organics lapse into unconsciousness. However, if you posed enough of a threat so that lethal force could be used, we would likely attempt to strangle you."

Tali gulped and scratched at her neck nervously.

"In order to make certain your death, we would then remove your mask and shatter the glass. Even if you were not dead at that point, your demise would be almost certainly guaranteed."

"Oh. I… see. You've put a lot of thought into this."

"No. We are using our knowledge of Creator anatomy to formulate an appropriate strategy."

Tali paused again. "How much do you know about anatomy?"

Legion blinked, and its plates shifted nervously. "We have studied diagrams illustrating the inner and outer features of both male and female quarians, as well as all other known species in the galaxy.

"Geth are knowledgeable in matters concerning Creators. For obvious reasons."

"Yes, well, we created the geth. I suppose that makes sense."

Legion paused. "The more we know about our possible enemies, the better prepared we become." Done speaking, it looked back to its omnitool.

But Tali stopped again. "Legion… do you consider me an enemy?"

Legion stopped and looked up at her. It studied her face for a moment, its eye shifting and its plates flexing. "We have not yet passed judgment. Considering current factors we are allies. However, after Collector threat has passed, status may change."

Tali was conflicted. All her life she had believed that the geth were malevolent machines that had driven the quarians from their home. Reduced them to living on the Flotilla, in their air-tight suits. Everything that was bad for the quarians was the geth's fault. When they re-emerged two years ago, it had all but confirmed her suspicions. Now she found herself doubting everything she'd been raised to believe.

"I'm… I'm not too sure myself, either."

"Trust must be earned," it observed. There was a ping, signaling that Tali's data had finished sending. "We look forward to processing new data." It nodded in Tali's direction. "Thank you, Tali'Zorah."

Tali shook herself out of her thoughts. "…Yeah, don't mention it."

The plates on Legion's head shifted again. "Acknowledged. We shall not tell anyone of this interaction."

"No, that's not what I…" She stopped and sighed. "Thank you Legion. I'll see you later."

Legion nodded again. "Acknowledged."

Tali left the AI core feeling worse than when she entered. Before, everything was clear, and she was sure she'd have one less geth to worry about. But now…

"Are you feeling alright dear?"

Tali jumped at the sound of Dr. Chakwas's voice, who had evidently returned while Tali was in the core.

"No, I'm fine," she lied. Her body language must have given her away. Or maybe Chakwas was just a really good doctor. "Just a little… confused."

Chakwas smiled. "I see. Do take care."

"I'm a quarian. What's the saying: 'You're preaching to the choir.'" Tali almost stayed in the medical bay; she was eager to talk with someone. She left for the engineering bay, not sure what to think anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Tali'Zorah, report to the cargo bay for departure."_

Tali was jolted awake, nearly hitting her head on the low ceiling. This was the second time her sleep had been interrupted in the past two days.

Grumbling to herself, she made her way to the elevator, and descended two floors. A summon to the cargo bay usually meant Shepard had chosen her for a mission, since the shuttle needed for most planet-side landings was docked there.

She wondered what the mission was. If Shepard had chosen her, it meant the commander expected there to be plenty of use for her tech expertise. She was the best tech on the Normandy, after all.

Except…

Legion's code appeared in her head again. But it had admitted that it only knew because it had seen the mistake in the first place. Any organic could have done the same.

Well, no, most organics wouldn't have been able to memorize the buttons she had pressed in that fraction of a second.

So it was good at memorizing. She was still a better tech.

Tali tried to cement the idea in her head; no way had something her people built surpassed them in their area of expertise.

The elevator doors slid open, revealing the main cargo bay. Across the room, Shepard stood by the Kodiak shuttle, already in full armor, complete with helmet.

"Shepard," she said, jogging across the open space, "what's the mission?"

"The Normandy intercepted a distress signal from a nearby station," said a voice from behind her. "Scans reveal loss of power through the structure, but several life signs from the far end. Shepard-Commander wishes to investigate."

Tali turned to Shepard. "Why are you bringing him along? You don't need both of us."

"I want to make sure you're both good to work as a team," said Shepard. "I think this mission'll help you work it out."

"Me and Legion already talked about it. Right Legion?"

Legion paused, as if recalling the previous night. "Yes. Consensus was reached."

Shepard stood back from the shuttle and opened the door. "Talking about it is one thing. I'll believe it when I see it."

Shepard took point as the squad explored the abandoned _Machu Pichu. _Tali couldn't understand why humans always had to name their ships and stations after Earth cities. It seemed like unnecessary attachment.

And the construction, too. It was a very poorly-designed station; two large, spherical halves connected by only a pair of passages. Human construction left a lot to be desired.

The station, in its current sate, was dark and inhospitable. There was no gravity, and no air. Furniture floated around, free of anything to keep it routed to the floor. However, some pieces were bolted to keep the stable in such an event.

Despite Legion's claims of life signs, the long halls of the station were empty. But the squad kept their weapons drawn, just in case. It was possible that mechs had passed under the scanner's recognition, and being caught unprepared as LOKI mechs advanced was not a situation anyone wanted to be in.

Of course, Tali could have fended them off even without a weapon. The humanoid LOKI weren't particularly well-reinforced, physically or electronically.

"We are nearing the signal's origin," intoned Legion. Shepard gestured to a nearby door and looked to Legion. "Affirmative."

"Stand back.," said Shepard. "It might be a trap." Legion and Tali took up positions on the sides of the doorframe while Shepard opened it. The commander darted inside, assault rifle drawn. After a few moments, Tali heard Shepard give the all clear.

The room was uncomfortably close to the slim connecting passageways, Tali realized. She didn't feel completely safe here.

It wasn't the station control room, but the chamber was clearly for someone high-ranking. Tali noted the unusually high-tech equipment and multiple computers. Shepard was approaching the only activated piece of technology they had seen so far: a single glowing terminal.

Shepard began to type the keys, looking for the source of the signal. "Here it is. It was activated only recently. Odd considering we haven't seen anyone aboard."

Tali looked over Shepard's shoulder at the terminal. "Maybe a VI started it?"

"There's no record of a VI on this ship." Shepard began to look through the data stored on the terminal. "Maybe recent reports can give us some insight."

Legion picked its head up, the plates surrounding its eye moving furiously. "Evacuation is advised. We hypothesize signal was a trap."

Shepard began to move to the door, looking at Legion. "What makes you say that?" The commander never took any chances.

"We detected another signal. It is one typical of the activation of remote IEDs."

"Hell, legion, next time say something earlier!" Shepard's fist hit the control panel, but instead of an open door, there was an explosion.

***

Tali's head hurt. She ached all over. She opened her eyes, still reeling from the shock of the explosion. She had no idea where she was or what had happened.

But she was alive. And on solid ground. Those were both good signs.

She picked her head up, her body fighting against the effort every step of the way. Her eyes, slowly adjusting to the darkness, picked out a figure looking down at a data terminal.

She recognized the cable protruding from the back of its neck. The smooth head. The arched lower legs and three-fingered hands.

A quarian!

She tried to get his attention. "What… what happened?"

He turned, revealing the tinted glass faceplate and glowing audio amplifier of a quarian helmet. "Oh good, you're awake." His voice had no hint of an accent, which meant he had been away from the Flotilla for a long time. "After that explosion, I was worried you wouldn't wake up." He turned from the terminal and helped her to her feet.

"Did you find anyone else? I had two others with me."

"No, nobody." Tali's heart skipped a beat. It was possible she was the only one alive right now.

Tali's hands moved to her hip and the small of her back. "Where are my weapons?"

"You didn't have any on you. I guess the explosion knocked them off you." He gestured down the hallway "Here, come with me. My ship's not too far from here, we can talk more there."

"Lead the way." Tali stepped lightly; her left ankle hurt to tread on. "Do you have any medi-gel there?"

"Of course." He began to walk down the hall, with Tali limping behind him.

Tali was suspicious; her time with Shepard had taught her to be wary. This quarian's presence seemed too lucky to be coincidence. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"Oh, uh, I picked up a distress signal. I guess you did too. I was tracking it down when I heard the explosion. When I got there, the emergency bulkheads had shut, and you were lying on this side of it. Lucky for you."

"Yes, lucky. For me." Shepard and Legion could've been alive, of course. Shepard was a remarkably stubborn human, and Legion was built to withstand combat. She just wasn't optimistic about it. "Have you seen anybody else on the ship?"

The quarian paused. "No, no one."

"Not any mechs or anything?"

"Nope."

That was especially suspicious. The Normandy had picked up multiple life signs from the station. "Are you alone?"

"Yes. Just cruising the galaxy, looking for junk to sell." He shrugged. "It's a living. But when I saw the signal, well, I couldn't say no to someone who might be in danger."

Tali noted the quarian only had a pistol at his side. "Very brave of you. And foolish."

"Well, I've- I've always been a bit headstrong. That's why I left the Flotilla." He was young. He could've been on his Pilgrimage, but likely not finished with it. "Maybe, maybe we should just not talk anymore. You need to keep up your strength."

He was definitely hiding something. She noticed he was fidgeting, a sign of increasing adrenaline. "Alright. How much farther?"

"Not far," he promised. They turned left around a corner, past a hallway of unopened doors. Tali peered suspiciously at each one, but noted the other quarian seemed unperturbed.

However, his confidence was unfounded. The last door opened when they walked past it. The quarian jumped, obviously not expecting it, and his hand flew to his side and drew his pistol.

A geth emerged. Tali's heart leapt. "Legion! I thought you were dead!"

The Quarian fired, and Legion's shield flashed where the shot impacted it. It quickly reached out and grabbed the quarian's arm, wrenching it down at a hard angle.

The quarian's yelp was accompanied by the crack of bone. He dropped the pistol and fell to the floor. Tali quickly stepped between the two of them, hoping to prevent any further violence. "Legion, stop! He rescued me."

Legion paused before responding. "Acknowledged. However, he fired upon us."

"Well, okay, but I think you could've done that a bit better." She knelt down to the quarian. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," he said, with a glance at his arm. He looked up at Legion. "You know this thing?"

Tali nodded. "He's an ally."

"I don't buy it."

"He didn't kill you."

The quarian considered it, and then gave a small nod. "Alright, help me up." Tali took hold of his other arm and carefully picked him up.

Legion's eye scanned the quarian. "Apologies. Are you a crew member of the _Ya'var?"_

The quarian looked down at his arm, and then back at Legion. "Y-yeah. Why?"

Legion's plates assumed an angry expression. It quickly drew its assault rifle and pointed it at the quarian's forehead. "Your allies will meet a similar fate."

Even if the quarian had shields, there was no way they could've helped him at the range. A single round flew from the barrel of the rifle, cracking the glass of the quarian's mask and finally impacting on the wall behind him. Tali knew the sight of his brains following the round on its path out of the back of his head and splattering against the once-clean wall was one that would not leave her for a long time.

Tali stood stock-still, frozen by shock. Then she keeled over, vomit rising in her throat. She had seen other beings die, quarians included. But never like that.

"Oh, Keelah," she mumbled, fighting to keep herself composed. "Legion… why?"

"He was leading you into a trap." Legion knelt over the body and began to search it. "We observed a freighter designated _Ya'var _as we searched the station. A pirate ship."

"Did you have to kill him?"

"It was the simplest course of action. Leaving him alive risked him alerting his crewmates." Itturned to Tali with a shotgun and pistol. "These are yours."

Tali looked at him, and slowly rose to an upright position. "Yes," she said, taking them and slotting them into their magnetic ports. "Thank you."

Legion nodded. "He had nothing else of note on his person. We were hoping to find a datapad detailing his activities." It shook its head. "Any data regarding his crew would have been helpful."

"Legion, did you see Shepard?"

Legion studied her for a moment, plates clicking into a thoughtful expression. "We did. Shepard-Commander was on the opposite side of the bulkhead. Alive." It looked to the quarian's corpse and then down the hallway, towards where the quarian had been leading her. "It is imperative we rejoin."

"Any ideas?"

Legion looked to its omnitool and tapped a few buttons. "We have studied station schematics. The construction only offers two passages connecting the two hemispheres. Passage one has been blocked off by automatic bulkheads. Passage two is clear." It looked up at Tali, closing its omnitool. "However, passage two is close to where the Normandy detected life signs. It is likely the pirates have stationed themselves there."

"Perhaps we can negotiate, or maybe sneak around." She cast a glance at the pool of blood forming around the quarian's head. "Something non-violent."

"Negotiation seems unlikely, as we have just killed a member of their crew. It is impossible to determine the feasibility of stealth until we can ascertain the layout of the area. We would advise you have your weapons ready." Legion tapped a few interfaces on the side of his rifle, which caused a few readouts to glow red, indicating he had switched to incendiary ammunition. "When you are prepared, we will continue."

"Alright," said Tali, unfolding her shotgun. She too activated incendiary ammo on her weapon. "Let's go."

Legion began to walk down the hallway, rifle clutched in a combat-ready position, with Tali close behind. "About how far is it?" she asked.

"Approximately 135 meters. We will alert you when we are near."

Unlike Tali's last companion, Legion pointed its rifle into every doorway, constantly on the lookout for any other pirates. The quarian had learned this lesson a little too late.

But every room they came across was empty. "The quarian we encountered was likely a scout sent to investigate the explosion. It is likely he was not expected to survive, which was why he carried no identification or data," Legion noted.

A thought occurred to Tali. "Legion, you didn't black out during the explosion, did you?"

Legion paused for a moment, probably retrieving data. "No. Geth cannot black out."

"You saw Shepard, but what about me?"

There was another pause before Legion answered. "You were on the same side of the bulkhead as us. We carried you a short distance, and placed you somewhere where we assumed you would escape enemy detection while we scouted ahead. The quarian slipped past us during our investigation."

"So, you rescued me then."

Legion's plates rose and fell. "That is one term to describe it. You were not in any immediate danger, but we assumed that life forms aboard the station would investigate the blast. Relocating you was the simplest solution."

"Thank you Legion, that… that was very thoughtful of you."

Legion's plates flicked again. "We place high priority on your survival." It paused again, then continued speaking. "We would do the same for any other ally." Tali gave a small laugh, which caused Legion to turn in her direction. "We do not find anything regarding the situation humorous."

"Nevermind, Legion. Let's just keep going."

Legion stared at her for another moment before continuing. "Yes." As they moved, she could tell it was thinking; the plates surrounding its eye continually changed expression. It didn't take much to figure out what it was thinking about.

Tali didn't quite know why she had laughed herself. Maybe the thought of a geth referring to a quarian as an ally was so implausible as to be ridiculous. Maybe Legion's slight pause before his clarification struck her as embarrassed. Of course, she had no idea why a geth would be embarrassed by a comment like that.

But geth were just machines, right? There had to have been an obvious reason, one that she didn't yet see.

After a few minutes, Legion stopped and held out its hand. "We are nearing the pirate camp," he announced. It turned to Tali. "Would you prefer to attempt a clandestine approach?"

The sight of the quarian's head expelling its contents flashed across her mind. "Yes," she said, trying to compose herself. "Let's."


	3. Chapter 3

Legion tilted its head forwards. "It is advisable that you take point."

Tali nodded. As they neared the end of the hallway, she began to hear voices. They all had that distinctive filter that accompanied a quarian helmet.

"I've never had to kill a quarian before," she whispered.

"We have."

"I saw."

Legion blinked. "There have been circumstances before the current mission. That kill brought this platform's total to four."

Tali sighed. "Not something I needed to know."

"Apologies." It paused before continuing, seeming thoughtful. "We have killed geth. It is undesirable, but necessary."

"Well, they were shooting at us. Quarians usually don't go around shooting at each other. We have disagreements, sure, but they rarely escalate to violence. The way we're brought up, we're taught that the Flotilla is one big family."

"Many who are one. Similar to geth," Legion commented.

Tali winced. She wasn't quite ready to be compared to the geth. "Let's just keep going, Legion." She turned her head forwards and saw that they had already arrived. The pirates didn't have a true camp, just a large, pressurized breech tube that lead to a frigate moored a distance away. There were a number of crates scattered around, likely goods they were salvaging. Quarians were standing about, some talking to one another, others looking at the crates, and so on. It looked like a bunch of salvagers to Tali.

She quickly moved into an open door, with Legion following. "Are you sure they're pirates?" she asked. "They just look like they're salvaging parts of the station."

"Illegal procurement of Alliance-owned materials. Piracy."

"Well, are they really hostile?"

Legion blinked. "They fired at us."

"Well, you're a geth."

"We holstered our weapons and approached in a non-hostile manner."

"You're still a geth."

Legion paused, plates shifting. "Acknowledged." It then looked to Tali. "What is your recommended course of action?"

"I think if I went out there to talk to them, I could get us both through."

Legion nodded. "Avoid discussion of the Creator-quarian we shot."

"You mean you sh- Right."

Tali did not holster her shotgun as she walked towards the pirates. It was better to be cautious.

One of the quarians noticed her approach and called to the ship. "Captain Ubek? There's someone coming."

"Is it Traven? I sent him out scouting 10 minutes ago!" came the reply. It was oddly deep for a quarian's voice.

"No, but it's a quarian."

A large figure emerged from behind one of the crates. Tali supposed it was Ubek, and his place as captain was justified; he was large. Quarians were slimmer than most other races in the galaxy, but Ubek went against the norm. He wore a large overcoat that covered his lower half, and a black faceplate blocked out any view of his visage. One could usually pick out a quarian's features if they looked hard enough, but the captain's mask was as blank as a LOKI mech's.

He nodded to Tali. "Did you see a quarian around here? Young kid, grey and blue suit?"

Tali lowered her gun. Just enough to show that she didn't consider them a threat, but not enough to prevent her from firing when she needed to. "No, sorry."

Ubek sighed. "I was worried about that. We sent him out to… investigate that explosion. It'd be a shame if we lost him."

Tali felt a twinge of guilt.

"But enough about me," he continued. "What brings you here?"

"Me and some of my... allies were investigating a distress signal. There was an explosion, and we were separated. I'm just trying to find my way back."

"So, alone then?"

The captain's tone made Tali suspicious. "Not quite. We just want to pass through; get to the other side of the station."

"Fair enough. Where's your friend?"

"I need your word you won't shoot him."

"We wouldn't shoot at anyone unless we had reason to."

"You already did."

"We did…" Ubek stroked under the mouthpiece of his helmet. "We haven't seen anyone else today."

"Are you going to promise or not?"

Ubek shrugged. "Fine. I give you my word as captain."

Tali only half-turned her head to call to Legion; she didn't completely trust Ubek. "Legion! You can come out!" Legion emerged from the room, assault rifle held ready.

Tali heard an amused chuckle from Ubek. "Your servant?"

"No, my ally."

"What use could a geth have as an ally?"

"Cooperation furthers mutual goals," said Legion, lowering its rifle. It stopped just behind Tali, eye darting around and taking in new information.

"And it talks. Amazing." Ubek turned to the quarian who had originally spotted Tali and whispered something to him.

The quarian nodded as the captain walked back to the ship. "The captain says you're free to go," he said. "And he hopes you find your friends soon."

"Tell him he has our thanks," Tali gestured to Legion, and the two continued down the corridor. "See?" she said when they were a suitable distance away. "I told you I could talk our way out of this."

Legion remained silent for a few moments, plates moving furiously. "We have suspicions as to Captain Ubek's supposed goodwill."

Tali shrugged. "I don't trust him either, but I don't think he's going to do anything about us. He just wants to get the scrap and get out, like any salvage party."

"Intact and operational geth are difficult to procure," Legion noted. "Did you indicate affiliation with Shepard-Commander?"

"Come on Legion, give me more credit than that. I'm smarter than you think," she said, nudging him with her shoulder.

"We do not doubt your intelligence, Tali'Zorah." It raised its assault rifle again and tapped the readouts, switching to disruptor ammo.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Disruptor ammo is more efficient at combating Creators."

Tali stared at him for a moment, somewhat worried. "What are you saying…?"

"We are being followed."

Tali cast a glance over her shoulder, but it was impossible to see far down the dark hallway. "Are you sure?"

"86.548% certainty."

"What do we do?"

"Continue moving. When we locate an area that offers advantage, we will confront the enemy."

"They won't wait that long."

Legion paused. "We are aware of this. This hallway offers little in the way of cover. However, taking position in doorways is a valid tactic."

Tali switched her shotgun to disruptor ammo. "When?"

"Whenever you are prepared."

Tali nodded. "I'm ready."

Legion pointed at an open door ahead. "Position yourself there. We will take the room behind you."

Tali tried to make her duck into the open doorway seem as nonchalant as possible. She turned on her Omnitool, welcoming the familiar orange glow. "Chikktika, I hope you're ready for this." She knew her electronic combat drone couldn't really understand her, but it didn't stop her from conveying her affection.

She waited, heart pounding. She was half-sure she could make out hushed voices and soft footsteps, but it was possible her mind was playing tricks on her.

Then she saw a single shot from Legion's direction, followed by a gurgle and a thud. Then there was a hail of bullets from the other direction.

Tali poked her head out from the doorframe and held her omnitool out in the direction of the bullets. "Go for the optics, Chikktika, the optics!" There was a purple glow, and the spherical drone zoomed around, sending bolts of energy at anything that wandered nearby.

The drone was little more than a distraction, but it let Tali loose a few shots down the hall. She looked back and saw Legion, sniper rifle aimed forwards. It took another shot, and looked to Tali. "We do not expect the pursuing force is large. Escape is a possibility."

Tali nodded. "If you think it's safe, then let's…"

Her attention was drawn forwards by the appearance of a single quarian from the darkness. His suit glowed with tech armor, and over his shoulder, he carried a rocket launcher.

Tali panicked and fired a few shots at him, but his shields absorbed the impact. There was a pause, and then he fired a rocket. Tali ducked back into the room, praying that it would offer some protection. The missile zoomed past the door, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she remembered.

"Legion!"

The explosion was large enough to dislodge the furniture in her room and crack the walls. She looked out the door, hoping she wouldn't see Legion's parts scattered around. Instead, the geth was lying in the middle of the hall, struggling to get up.

Tali broke from cover, trying to cover Legion's escape with her shots. The quarian, occupied with reloading the rocket launcher, ducked back into the shadows. Tali quickly moved to Legion's side, picking it up and half-dragging him to the room. She grabbed his sniper rifle almost as an afterthought.

"Legion, are you okay?" she asked, propping it up again an upturned desk.

Legion picked its head up, flashlight eye feebly glowing to life. "Structural damage. However, this platform is still functional."

"Good to hear," she said, putting the rifle into its hands. Legion stared at it and folded it up, slotting it onto its back. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Opposing force is larger than expected. Coupled with heavy weapons and this platform's injury, this fight is nearly unwinnable." It blinked. "They desire us alive. The rocket did not impact our room directly, but the room behind it."

Tali opened her omnitool again and frantically tried to establish an audio link to Shepard. A thought flashed across her mind that she should have done that in the first place. "Shepard? Shepard, can you hear me?" But her cries were met with static.

"They are scrambling outgoing signals," said Legion. "We have already attempted communication with Shepard-Commander."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Surrender."

Tali took a deep breath, her pride ready to take a hit. "Alright." She took Legion's sniper rifle from its back, and along with her shotgun, tossed them out the doorway. She kept her pistol and his assault rifle, just in case.

The enemy fire ceased. There were footsteps, then the quarian with the rocket launcher appeared in the doorway, weapon aimed at the two of them. Tali raised her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. After a few moments, Legion did the same.

"Smart choice," said the quarian.

***

Tali and Legion were placed in adjacent cells. They were low-tech; just a cube of steel bars, but still inescapable for anyone who wasn't a krogan.

The two had their weapons and omnitools taken away, and were marched back to the ship. She didn't see captain Ubek, but had a feeling she soon would. The ship was a typical frigate, dingy, but usable and surprisingly clean, and only slightly modified with stronger shields and more efficient engines. Perfect for pirates.

Tali paced back and forth in her cell, trying to formulate an escape plan. She wasn't having much luck. Legion was merely standing stock-still in the middle of his cell, occasionally glancing around.

"How can you be so calm at a time like this?" she asked, not breaking her stride.

"We are currently processing available data. However, there is not enough to develop a reasonable plan of escape." It turned to her, plates flicking slightly. "Waiting for further data is the most efficient option at this time."

Tali shook her head and continued pacing. Legion's mechanical patience was starting to get on her nerves.

The room's only door opened, braking Tali from her thoughts and catching Legion's attention. Ubek strolled into the room at a leisurely pace. "I see you two made yourselves comfortable. Just sit tight, and I'm sure your friends will come to your aid."

"You don't know the half of it," Tali hissed. "When they're done here, we'll be free, and you'll be dead."

"Perhaps. But I'm taking steps to try and avoid that outcome." He sat down on a nearby chair and leaned back. "Do you know why we came here in the first place? Security mechs. Expensive if you buy 'em from the manufacturers you know. We set up a trap, the signal and the bomb, just as a little insurance in case anyone else came by, mind you, and went to getting the things onboard.

"See, I figured that we'd at least come out with some free mechs. And if someone else came along, well, we'd see what we could do with them. The slavery business is pretty big on some of the Terminus systems, you know. But when we saw the Normandy docking, I knew we had something big. Think of how much the Alliance would pay to have Commander Shepard back!"

"Shepard has a way of dealing with scum like you."

"Yes, I know. And it wouldn't be good for my health. It's good I caught some of his teammates instead."

"There's nothing to stop Shepard from killing you after we get back."

"Which is why the commander won't be getting both of you back. As I said before, as a little insurance. The ransom gets paid for one of you, and we zoom off. Shepard won't dare fire on us if we've got a teammate aboard."

"Shepard is prepared to make sacrifices."

"No matter who we keep, I'm sure we can get a good price," continued Ubek, ignoring Tali. "A fully intact geth, or the daughter of Rael'Zorah."

"Don't you dare say his name," said Tali, advancing to the bars. "You don't deserve it. _Ubek nar Tasi,_"she spat. Ubek, child of no one.

Ubek laughed. "You quarians are so concerned with identity. Child of who, crew of what. Too much emphasis on your surroundings, and not enough on yourselves."

Tali leaned forwards, pressing her mask against the bars. "What are you talking about…?"

Ubek laughed again and tapped a console on the wall. The doors shut, and there was a hiss, signaling the room was pressurized.

He reached under his faceplate and popped the seals, drawing it away from his face with another hiss.

Tali gasped.

Ubek laughed and stood up. "Never seen a batarian before?"

Tali should have realized it. He didn't know geth could talk. And she had never heard of quarian pirates. Batarian pirates, on the other hand, didn't make her blink. Their race had a reputation for being criminals.

Batarians had four eyes, flat noses, and skin that ranged from green to brown, but were otherwise indistinguishable from humans if they wore a helmet. Or quarians, if they worse a cloak.

"Gullible race, you quarians," said Ubek, replacing his faceplate. Tali noted he actually had three fingers, likely a wound from a previous battle. "Just spout a few things about wanting to break free from society's norm, and all the so-called rebels come running. And none of them have ever questioned me."

Tali glared at him. "You bosh'tet," she said, voice low and filled with poison. "Corrupting all these people."

"Corrupting? I just gave them an opening. They willingly came to my side."

"They wouldn't if they knew the truth!"

"Keep thinking that. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, rising from his seat, "I have a few calls to make." He left the room, depressurizing it on his way out.

Tali relaxed her muscles, letting her face rest against the bars. She knew some quarians never came back from their pilgrimage, but they were the exception rather than the rule. And she never would have thought they would be desperate enough to turn to piracy. After all, being raised on the flotilla, with goods at a premium, stealing was one of the worst crimes.

"Heretics," said Legion, breaking her concentration.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head in Legion's direction. It had approached the wall the two cells shared, and was looking at her.

"You worry about the motivation of pirates. In turn, you worry about your people. But pirates are heretics. You cannot compare them to other Creators."

"Thank you Legion, but you don't understand. Quarians aren't raised that way. We think of the needs of others before ourselves."

"Geth believe that we make our own future. But some follow the old machines. There is always dissent." His plates clicked into a curious expression. "Another similarity between geth and Creators. Even a highly-controlled environment will produce those who think differently."

Tali sighed and walked over to Legion. "For a machine, you're really philosophic. There's… there's a lot I don't understand about you."

Legion blinked. "We have many talents. Example: We have formulated a plan of escape."


	4. Chapter 4

Tali grabbed Legion's hands through the bars and resisted an urge to laugh out loud. "Legion, I don't know what I'd do without you!"

Legion blinked. "You would have been taken captive by pirates."

Tali dropped its hands, once again caught off guard by Legion's literal interpretations. "Oh, uh, right. So, what's your plan?"

Legion turned and looked to the panel on the wall that Ubek had interacted with earlier. "We believe that control panel for this room interconnects with the rest of the ship." Legion raised its arm, and an omnitool appeared on it. "Interface with computers may yield-"

"Where did you get that?" Tali had pressed up against the bars, staring intently at Legion's omnitool. She had never been separated from hers before, and felt naked without it.

Legion stared forward for a moment, trying to reestablish its interrupted processes. "Geth omnitools are stored within the body of geth. A decoy is used to fool enemies.

"As previously stated: interface with computers may yield means of escape. We will first need to re-obtain confiscated weapons. After, we must find the shuttle. Probability of conflict is high."

Tali sighed. "It's not like we didn't expect it."

Legion stared at her, plates clicking into a concerned look. "Are you comfortable with this plan?"

"No, I'm... not. But I don't see another way out of this." She sighed again. "Go ahead Legion."

Legion nodded and tapped a few buttons on its Omnitool, causing the panel to flash. "Opening port-side airlock," intoned Legion. "According to schematics, we can safely get to main storage, where our weapons are held. Then we must fight our way to starboard airlock, where we can escape into the station."

Tali could hear a hiss from the halls outside, followed by yells and the screech of metal on metal. "Legion, how do we get out of here?"

Legion blinked. "We must get to main storage, where we retrieve our weapons. After, we-"

"No, I meant from these cells. I can't exactly bend these bars."

Legion blinked again. "We can." It crouched down and ran his gaze across the bottom of the cell, where the bars fused to the floor. Its gaze lingered over one, and it straightened up, passing its hand over its right shoulder, the shoulder it had repaired with Shepard's old N7 armor. It reared back and slammed its full weight into the bar. Tali watched it do this three times, until the bar's seams finally tore, sending the metal pole onto the floor. "This room remains pressurized," Legion noted.

"I didn't know you were that strong," said Tali, impressed by its work.

"We are not. We simply do not feel pain." It crossed to Tali's cell and studied the bars again. "We would advise you stand back."

"Or you could get the keys from over there," she said, pointing to a key ring hanging from the wall.

Legion's gaze followed her hand, and it paused for a few moments, staring at the keys. "We had not observed that," it said quietly. It quickly grabbed the ring from the wall and used the keys to unlock Tali's cell. "We will take point," it said, opening the door.

There was not a hiss when the door opened. This part of this ship was evidently not connected to the opened airlock, at least not in any way that caused it to depressurize. The pair moved cautiously along the corridor, Tali following Legion's pre-planned path through the frigate. It stopped at one door and looked to Tali.

"There is a crew quarters before the storage rooms," it said. "It is possible they may be inhabited."

"And?"

Legion's eye plates shifted. "They will fire upon us if we are seen."

"So… You want me to go in there?"

"Yes. Only to see if anyone is inside. If so, we will find another route."

"Maybe I could get them out."

"If you believe you can, do so."

"Go hide somewhere Legion. Just in case." Legion nodded and moved back down the hall. Tali steeled herself for whatever she might find inside. Worst case scenario was a group of quarians who recognized her as a would-be prisoner. She doubted even Shepard could get out of that situation. She opened the door and quickly scanned the room. To her relief, there was only one person in here.

A quarian was seated on one of a row of beds, playing with a gadget in his hands. He looked up at the sound of the opening door. "Hm? Is something going on?"

"Didn't you hear the alarms?" said Tali, thinking quickly. She marched over to the quarian and pried the device out of his hands. "Get off your ass you lazy bosh'tet!"

"What? Alarms? What's going on?"

"The prisoners escaped!" she hissed. "There's an all crew alert! Get out there!"

The quarian scrambled to grab a folded rifle before running out of the room at a quick pace. After a few moments, Legion emerged from the hallway.

"Impressive," it said.

Tali sat on the bed. Despite her success, she found her heart pounding and her hands shaking. "All that time with Shepard was good for something, I guess."

"It was unwise to warn him of escaped prisoners," Legion said, approaching the bed. "They will check after his false report."

"Hopefully by then, we'll be armed."

"Armed or not, the chances of successfully defeating a ship of pirates are slim. Immediate re-armament is advised."

Tali nodded. But as she rose from the bed, the quarian reappeared in the doorway. "I just checked, there's no alarms-"

It didn't take him long to reach for his rifle. But by the time it was unfolded Legion was already on him. The quarian, with his hands on his gun, didn't have the reflexes or means to fend off Legion's attack. Tali saw Legion grab the helmet with both hands, and turn it sharply to the side. There was a muffled crack, and the quarian crumpled against the doorframe.

That was the second time she had seen one of her people die at the hands of an ally.

"Are you alright?' asked Legion, crouching over the dead quarian. It evidently remembered her reaction last time.

"Better than last time," she said. At least his brains had stayed in his head.

There was a hiss as Legion removed the quarian's faceplate.

Tali watched him with interest. "What are you-?"

There was the sound of cracking glass as Legion smashed it against the doorframe. It then dragged the quarian from the doorway and pushed him under one of the beds.

"Let us continue."

Tali stared at the ruined faceplate, and then at the bed the corpse lay under. She would've left the body where it lay, mostly out of desire not to touch it. "…Let's."

Legion took point again, though there was little chance of there being anyone in the cargo bay. Tali half-admired its relentless precision, but remembered that he was only programmed that way. Legion tapped a few buttons on the panel next to the cargo bay doors. The door slid open to reveal rows and rows of stacked crates.

"Pretty well organized for pirates," Tali said.

Legion pointed to a crate not too far from the main doors. "Our weapons and omnitools are in there," it said, moving down the rows.

"Where are you going?"

"To retrieve more appropriate armaments."

Tali shrugged. Legion knew what it was doing, at least. She lifted the lid on the crate, revealing her pistol and shotgun, and Legion's assault and sniper rifles. Further down were two omnitools. Tali savored slotting hers back into her sleeve. She hefted the sniper in her hand. It had a lot of weight.

"Legion?" she called.

There was a crash as one of the crates tumbled to the floor. "We require more time."

Tali unfolded the sniper rifle out of curiosity. She couldn't recognize the model, but it certainly looked intimidating. It was a long, thick, grey-green barrel, with a scope on top and a pair of stabilizers at the tip. She was never a very good shot with sniper rifles, but just holding the weapon in her hands was tempting. She lowered her head down to the scope and sighted up one of the crates. She vaguely recalled killing geth in a similar fashion two years ago.

The sudden rising of the barrel ripped her from her fantasy.

"We would advise you not fire our weapon," said Legion. "It is not designed for use by humans or quarians. You risk breaking your arm."

"I wasn't going to fire," she protested. "I was just looking at it."

"The M-98 Widow Anti-Material Rifle is not designed for human or quarian use," it repeated. It took the rifle from her grip and folded it onto its back. "Are you prepared?"

"Ready when you are," she said, handing Legion its assault rifle and omnitool. It folded the rifle onto his back and placed the tool into his arm.

"Good." It walked behind a crate and returned with a missile launcher. "Our escape will be noticed soon."

Tali stared at the heavy weapon perched on Legion's shoulder. "Can you even use that thing?"

Legion pressed a button on the weapon's side, causing a small, yellow, holographic sight to appear. "We are programmed in the use of a variety of weapons."

"Including that one?"

Legion blinked. "ML-77 Missile Launcher. Capable of holding 20 rockets. Fires in quick succession. Identify friend-foe targeting system makes indirect fire possible." It moved towards the door without another word, Tali close behind. The last thing she noticed before they left was what looked like a small group of deactivated LOKI mechs, clad in bone-white armor and standing in perfect rows.

"Wait, Legion, hold on a second," she said, moving back towards the mechs.

Legion stopped and turned around. "We repeat the need for urgent evacuation."

"I can override the targeting parameters on these mechs," she said, opening her omnitool. "If the pirates come in here, they'll attack."

Legion shifted nervously and looked at the door. "Working quickly is advised."

Tali continued to tap at her omnitool. Legion needn't have worried; she'd hacked simple AI like this countless times. She could've modified the programs in her sleep.

"Done," she said, closing her omnitool. "Let's get out of here."

Legion nodded and turned towards the door, Tali running to join him. "Hostiles detected."

Tali peeked out the door. "There's no one there, Legion."

Legion blinked. "We did not say anything."

They turned simultaneously to see a YMIR mech moving from behind a stack of crates at the far end of the room. YMIR mechs were huge synthetics, clad in white armor with wide bodies and short, bent legs. Its cylindrical head turned and trained a vertical pair of red optical sensors on the two beings at the far end of the room.

"Target locked," it said in a deep, mechanical voice. It raised its left arm, which opened to reveal a rocket launcher.

"Oh, Keelah, Legion, run!" cried Tali. The two bolted out the door and into the hall, while a rocket impacted the wall opposite the door, leaving a large dent.

"We trusted your hacking abilities," said Legion as the two turned a corner.

"I thought it was just LOKIs in the hold, Legion. I figured I'd get any that might be there all at once."

"YMIR mechs possess superior override protection. Your signal alerted it."

"What tipped you off?" she snapped.

Alarms began to ring as they hurried down the halls, likely caused by the missile impact. Tali guessed the ringing would alert any crew that was still outside the ship. She didn't want to get stuck between a YMIR mech and a bunch of pirates.

"Is there any other way out, Legion?"

Legion shook its head. "This ship possesses only three airlocks. A portside, a starboard, and an aft-side, at the end of the cargo bay. Only starboard airlock is connected to the station."

"Is there another way to the airlock?"

Legion shook its head again. "Ship design is simple, with few alternate paths. We will encounter resistance." It tapped another button on the rocket launcher, which caused the barrel to extend and open, prepared to fire.

Legion stopped at a four-way intersection, pressing a few more buttons on the rocket launcher. "Airlocks are down the left and right pathways. We will encounter pirates." Tali drew her shotgun and set it to disruptor ammo. The heavy footsteps of the YMIR mech began to near, and Tali heard voices coming from the right-hand hallway. Her heart began to pound, spreading a wave of adrenaline through her body.

She tilted her head to the right. "Take the lead, Legion."

They had not taken two steps when they ran into a group of quarians coming to investigate the alarms. Tali felt a synthetic limb push her back into the hallway they had come from. In mid-stride, she was unable to stop herself from falling back into the hall. She saw the explosion from around the corner followed by a body being flung down the left hall.

The YMIR mech's footsteps grew closer. "Target in range." Tali darted down the left hall, still coasting off the adrenaline rush. She saw the body that had been forced back by the blast was Legion, already rising to his feet.

She was shocked. She didn't think anything could've survived the blast. She turned and saw the remains of the quarians across the opposite hallway, nearly confirming her suspicions. "Legion? How did you survive?"

"Temporary overclocking of kinetic barriers," it replied, shouldering the missile launcher again. "Shields are now depleted."

"The YMIR is here," she said, looking over her shoulder. The footsteps were growing louder again.

"We must move."

The two of them ran down the hall, past the YMIR, past the remains of the pirates, and down the hall to the airlock. Tali breathed a sigh of relief. The adrenaline surge began to wear off, and she was aware of an increasing pain in her left ankle.

Legion touched the terminal next to the door, but its panels raised themselves in a worried look. "This interface is encrypted," he said, not turning around.

Tali turned to look down the hall. YMIR mechs were slow, but the one they had awakened would likely turn the corner in less than a minute. And with no cover, they would undoubtedly be mowed down by its mass accelerator cannon.

"Let's switch," said Tali. "I'll open the door, you hold off the YMIR."

Legion continued to work on the interface, but its panels assumed an irritated expression. "Your last bypass attempt did not go as planned."

"Legion, I can't use a rocket launcher. You can."

"You may not be able to open this door."

"I can."

"We are not convinced."

"Legion… Don't you trust me?"

Legion stopped and hung its head. "We will attempt to delay the YMIR mech," it said. It hefted the rocket launcher back onto his shoulder and turned to Tali. "The airlock is comprised of four locks. We have already opened one." It sprinted down the hall without another word. Tali heard the YMIR mech notice him and start firing.

Tali relished another opportunity to prove her tech skills. She considered herself quite good at it, so the inadvertent activation of the YMIR had surprised her.

_Lock 2 bypassed._

And of course, she didn't want Legion to think that she couldn't do it. And she didn't want herself to think she couldn't do it.

_Lock 3 bypassed._

"New target identified."

Tali looked over her shoulder to see Legion backpedaling towards her, with the YMIR in pursuit. The YMIR raised its right arm, which housed a powerful mass accelerator cannon. It sprayed a hail of shots down the hall, impacting Tali's shields. She saw Legion fire a rocket at it, creating a large explosion and a cloud of smoke. But the YMIR marched through it, undaunted.

"There remains only one rocket in this rocket launcher," said Legion.

"One lock left," said Tali. She was glad her conditioned suit all but eliminated perspiration, because she was sure she would have been swimming in sweat.

She barely noticed her shield meter emptying. She only saw the interface. The footfalls were getting louder, and her shields were emptying more quickly as the cone of bullets began to near its source.

_Lock 4 bypassed. _

The airlock slid open. Tali recognized the interior of the space station, along with the stacks of crates the pirates were loading. "Legion!"

Legion fired its last rocket and followed Tali out the door, dropping the heavy weapon as it went. There were few pirates still remaining on the station, but all of them turned to see what was going on. Including Ubek.

"New targets identified." The YMIR mech continued to spray bullets towards its targets, but now its targets included the quarian pirates.

Tali's hacking had worked better than she thought. She had succeeded in overriding its identify friend-foe protocols.

But Ubek managed not to be distracted. "Someone get that thing shut down! The rest of you, re-capture the prisoners!" Tali and Legion took cover behind a crate on the far side of the hall, as far away from the mech as possible. There was a quarian there, and Tali was almost shocked at how she mowed him down without a second thought. She looked out from behind the crate to see the rest of the pirates had also taken refuge behind the boxes. Most of them had their attention fixed on the advancing YMIR, but she could see Ubek's head staring intently in her direction. He nudged the quarian next to him and grabbed the assault rifle from his back, pointing it in Tali's direction. She just pulled her head back in as several rounds hit the nearby wall.

"What now, legion?" she asked.

She could see Legion's plates moving erratically. "It is possible the pirates will distract the mech, allowing us to escape."

"No, Ubek's looking at us. If the mech doesn't kill us, he will."

"Ubek wishes to capture us."

"But how long until he realizes were more trouble than we're worth?"

Legion paused. "The mech can still prove a valuable distraction. If critical overload can be reached, the resulting explosion will offer an opportunity to escape."

"Destroy the head," she muttered.

Legion nodded and unfolded its sniper rifle. "We require only one shot."

The sound of fire suddenly doubled, signaling the quarians had begun to return fire.

"Structural damage," intoned the YMIR. There was a pause, then a rapid beeping and an explosion, accompanied by several screams. Tali chanced another look, hoping to see the charred corpse of Ubek, but was disappointed.

"Better make it quick," said Tali. Legion looked out from behind the box and began to aim, but was forced back into cover by a stream of bullets.

"Ubek is not preoccupied with the YMIR mech," said Legion.

"Let me see what I can do." Tali poked her head out again, prompting more fire from Ubek. She opened her omnitool, whispering "Okay Chikktika, it's now or never." She looked out again and pointed her tool at Ubek, causing the holographic drone to appear next to him. Ubek only realized it was there after it sent an arc of electricity in his direction.

"Blasted drone!" he yelled, shooting in its direction. Tali responded by adding suppressive fire with her shotgun.

"Go Legion, go!" she said. Tali kept her attention on Ubek; she was too far away to do any real damage to his shields, and the drone was little more than a distraction, but if this didn't work, it was likely the two of them wouldn't reach the Normandy again.

She heard a small explosion, followed by moments of deafening silence. She pulled back behind cover and turned to Legion. "Did you get it?"

"Yes."

"CRITCAL OVERLOAD." There was a series of beeps, rapidly increasing in intensity.

"Immediate evacuation advised," said Legion. The pair leapt out from behind the crate and sprinted down the hall. Tali could hear Ubek shouting for his crew to get out as quickly as they could. They had succeeded. They were actually going to-

The massive explosion knocked both of them off their feet. Tali slid across the polished floor, head ringing from the force of the blast. "Legion?" she called, trying to regain her balance. She managed to stand up, but leaned against the wall for support. She saw a new bulkhead had appeared not too far from them, cutting off the new hole in the station. Shards of shattered crate floated through the air, as well as a few meaty bits she willed herself not to look at. She wished the station had windows, as the the remains of Ubek's ship was a sight she would have loved to see.

"Legion?" she repeated, limping over to it. Her limbs began to ache; the adrenaline rushes she had experienced before were gone, her body had nothing more to give. Her ankle screamed in protest with every step she took, but she willed herself along. She collapsed next to the downed geth. "Legion?" She shook it by the shoulder, hoping to elicit some sort of response. "Legion, get up. I can't carry you. I can hardly carry myself."

Legion's eye blinked feebly to life. There was a series of stuttering sounds as the geth attempted to reboot itself. At least it wasn't dead.

"My ship," said a voice behind her. "My crew." Tali turned to see a large figure walking through the floating remains of the crates. "That was everything I owned. Everything they owned." It was Ubek. He continued to advance on her. She didn't need to see his face to know there was murder in his eyes. "It's all gone now. It's the least I can do to return the favor."

Tali feebly reached for her shotgun, mind faintly nagging she should've reached for her pistol instead. Ubek couldn't possibly survive a blast at this range. She pulled the trigger.

There was a click.

She automatically reached for the lever to expel the full thermal clip, but it was too late. Ubek grabbed her free arm and hauled her up. "I'm going to enjoy crushing the life out of you and your geth friend with my bare hands," he growled.

Tali stared into his face, then down at her useless shotgun. She vaguely recalled earlier advice from Legion. She saw it smash the quarian's faceplate against the wall in her mind's eye.

She brought the butt of the gun down against Ubek's faceplate with a speed that surprised even her. She managed to land another blow before Ubek wrenched the weapon from her hands. The white cracks criss-crossed the glass, but he was otherwise undamaged.

Ubek grabbed Tali's other shoulder and brought her closer so that they were face-to-face. "You owe me a new faceplate," he said.

Tali stared at the cracked helmet, defeated. Quarian faceplates were tough, but if she had to guess, one more good blow would've have done him in.

"When I'm done with you, I'm gonna take yours. I hope your blood doesn't stain it," said Ubek.

An idea entered her head.

"Let me help you with that." She brought her own faceplate into his. Hard. She heard the hardened glass shatter under the impact. Ubek dropped his grip and fell back, clutching at his throat. She could now see his face changing colors at the lack of oxygen, from a dull green, to one slightly purple tinted. He grunted and gurgled, and then looked at her. Then his eyes glazed over and he stopped moving. His corpse remained in a standing position, rendered weightless by the lack of gravity on the station, but anchored by standard magnetic pads on his boots.

Tali sat on the floor, breathless. She looked to Legion, hoping it had been awake to see the whole thing. But it was still lying there, although its eye was now shifting about.

"Legion?"

There was another stuttering sound, and then he got up.

"Tali'Zorah." It looked up and saw Ubek's corpse swaying slightly in space. It then looked to Tali, seated on the floor, chest heaving.

"He's dead," she panted.

"Acknowledged," it said, walking towards her. "Are you injured?"

"My ankle. And I'm exhausted."

Legion grabbed Tali's arm and pulled her to her feet with surprising gentleness. "Both can be remedied when we return to the Normandy." It pulled her arm over his shoulder, and the pair took a few faltering steps. "Are you capable or walking?"

The pain in her ankle coupled by exhaustion made almost any action difficult. "No." Legion released his grip and lowered Tali to the ground. "You're not leaving me here, are you?"

Legion couched down in front of her, with his back to her. "No."

There was a pause, which Tali found rather awkward.

"Climb on," it prompted.

"…Excuse me?"

"We cannot carry you with our arms, and you cannot walk. We believe organics call this a 'piggy-back ride.'"

"Maybe you should just go get Shepard…"

"This action is more efficient."

"Oh, Keelah," muttered Tali, linking her arms around the geth's neck. "You better not tell anyone about this."

"Acknowledged," said Legion, rising to its feet. It wrapped his arms around her upper thighs, a little too close to her pelvis for her comfort.

"Watch your hands," she warned.

Legion paused, then shifted its grip further down her legs. It began to walk forwards at a trot. Tali found the motion oddly comforting.

_Piggy-backed by a geth, _she thought. Her head fell against the back of Legion's neck; she was too tired to hold it up anymore. _Thank Keelah all those quarians are dead .What would they think if they saw me like this?_


	5. Chapter 5

"Look, Commander, all I'm saying is that it's been a long time."

"An hour and a half," grunted Shepard, pacing the ground in front of the shuttle.

Joker, the pilot of the Normandy, sighed over the comm. "I told you about the explosion, right? The one that no living thing could have survived?"

"You did."

Joker sighed again. "We can't stay here forever Commander."

"We're not going to be here forever. We'll leave when they get back."

"And how long will that be?"

"We'll see."

Joker didn't respond. He knew better than anyone how stubborn the commander could be. However, Shepard had an affinity for being correct as well as stubborn, something that played to their advantage.

Shepard heard the explosion from all the way on the other end of the station. It had to be Tali and Legion; there was no question about it. The only question was: Why? Shepard was half afraid the answer would remain a mystery forever. It was doubtful Tali and Legion were dead; they were some of the best and brightest, the kind Shepard needed for this mission. They would be careful. They had to. They knew the stakes.

Shepard paced around the shuttle some more. Half an hour more, the commander decided. Then they would leave. Regardless of who was here.

Twenty minutes passed. Shepard was starting to get worried. Joker came up on the comm. Again. "Can we go yet, Commander?"

"10 more minutes."

"Look, Commander, we've given them 10 more minutes eight times so far. I'll miss 'em as much as you will, but the fate of the galaxy is kinda at stake. We gotta move on."

Shepard sighed and leaned against the shuttle. Joker was right. Teammates had died before. Just not on some negligible mission like this. It wasn't right.

The door to the shuttle opened, and Shepard stared into the empty seats, impassive. Soldiers died. Friends died. It was unavoidable.

That didn't make it any easier.

Shepard sat down on the seat, and was about to chart a return course to the Normandy when the sound of footsteps became apparent. Shepard unfolded a pistol and pointed it down the hall. "Who's there? Come out where I can see you!"

The footsteps stopped. There was a whispered conversation, then a soft thud and a small cry of pain. Then the footsteps resumed, slower this time. Then a bright point of light appeared. Then Legion emerged from the shadows, with Tali's arm slung over its shoulder.

Shepard laughed. "Hey, Joker. Guess who just showed up?"

"Glad to hear they made it Commander. Now, can we please leave?"

"Tali'Zorah requires medical attention," said Legion.

"I'm not that hurt," said Tali, though it sounded like she was fighting off a yawn, like she had just woken up. "Just my ankle."

Shepard took Tali and eased her into one of the seats. "What happened to you two?"

Legion paused. "We encountered resistance."

"What kind?"

"Pirates," said Tali. Legion took a seat next to her, while Shepard sat across from the two of them.

"And the explosion?"

"YMIR mech," answered Legion.

Shepard tapped a few button in the shuttle, which lifted from its docked position and began to fly towards the Normandy. "Well, this isn't quite what I meant when I said I wanted you two to work together, but beggars can't be choosers."

Tali gave a small laugh. "I never honestly thought I'd ever be grateful to be working with a geth." She looked over to Legion, who was staring straight ahead, panels moving in deep thought. "Legion saved me," she said quietly.

The plates stopped moving, and Legion returned Tali's look. "And you saved us." Shepard imagined Tali was smiling while Legion's watched her. Its eye moved about, still looking at her, but no longer just staring into her face.

Tali started and turned away, but Legion still stared at her for a few more moments before turning forwards.

Shepard watched the exchange with interest. As _long as the crew's working together_, the Commander thought. _How much they're working together isn't my concern._

_But a quarian and a geth? I've seen so much in this galaxy, but even that seems implausible._ Shepard leaned against the seat and looked out the window to see the streamlined Normandy growing larger in the viewports.

_Maybe I'm reading too much into it. _

A ramp opened up on the bottom of the Normandy, and the shuttle moved towards it.

_Of course, they said I was wrong about the Reapers._

***

Tali's ankle still hurt. The medigel Dr. Chakwas had given her had reduced the pain, but not eliminated it.

"You'll be fine in no time," the doctor assured her. "But you might want to take the next mission off."

Tali nodded, testing the range of motions on her ankle around. It still hurt, but she'd been through worse. "I don't know if I can refuse if Shepard needs my help."

Chakwas gave a knowing smile. "I'll make sure the Commander is notified of your condition."

"Oh. Thank you." Tali stood up from the medical bed and looked towards the door to the AI core. It was odd that the only way to access the core was through the medical bay, but this wasn't the time to be worrying about ship schematics. She had to talk to Legion.

"Is something troubling you dear?" asked Chakwas.

"No, just a little… conflicted. I'll work it out."

Legion was standing at the far end of them core, not seeming to be doing anything. Its head picked up and watched Tali as she walked across the floor. "Tali'Zorah."

"Hey Legion. I just wanted to see how you were doing." But there was more to it than that. Tali actually liked talking to Legion.

There was a brief pause before it responded. "This platform is operating at peak capacity. We believe that you are also doing well."

Tali picked up her leg and rolled her ankle a little. "It's a little sore, but I'll be fine. Of course, it's only thanks to you."

"Leaving an ally to die when something can be done is illogical. You are essential to this mission."

Tali sat down in the small alcove next to Legion, but it remained standing. "You know, that mission kind of reminded me of when I first met Shepard, back on the Citadel."

Legion blinked. "You had information that confirmed Saren Arterius's status as a rouge agent. You were cornered by his agents. Shepard-Commander arrived in time to save you."

It was Tali's turn to blink. "How did you know all that?"

Legion turned its head for a moment, avoiding her gaze. "A combination of previously learned data and confirmation from Garrus Vakarian."

"You asked Garrus about me? Why?"

"We were curious. You are currently the only quarian-creator we have met who did not try to destroy us on sight. We wanted to know if your history had any influence on your actions."

"If you knew my history, you'd think I would be next in line to try and kill you," she said. She patted the empty space next to her, and Legion dutifully sat down. "I mean, on my last mission with Shepard, I killed too many geth to count. And before that, I still hated them."

"Quarians are raised to believe geth are malevolent."

"And I believed it. But now I know that's not true."

"Some geth are malevolent. Heretics actively seek conflict with organics," said Legion.

"I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about you." Legion was not looking directly at her, so Tali let herself stare into its face. The face of an ordinary being had stories to tell. Their looks, their age, scars, tattoos; all of them said something about who they belonged to.

But not quarians. It was nearly impossible to tell what they were like behind their masks. They had to communicate what they were feeling; they didn't keep secrets like that from each other.

And geth kept no secrets from anyone…

Tali realized Legion was staring back. She quickly looked away, saying "And the rest of the geth back on the home planet too, of course."

"We are all geth. Any other platform would behave in a similar manner."

"Besides the, err, heretics. Right?"

"Yes."

There was a slight pause in the conversation before Legion spoke again. "Geth do not live in creator home planet."

"What?"

"Geth do not live on the surface of the planet. It is more efficient to live aboard stations, drawing resources from nearby asteroids. However, mobile platforms on the planet surface work to remove rubble and toxins left from Morning War."

"Why?"

Legion's plates moved in a thoughtful expression. "We speculate it is similar to human preservation of cemeteries and remains on Earth. However, geth do not truly die, so it is likely it is done for quarians who perished."

"Oh, Legion, that's… that's good to hear. I didn't know the geth would try and honor the quarians who died."

"Geth hold no hostility against creators." It paused for a moment. "Geth harbor _little _hostility against creators," it corrected.

"Yes, well, I can understand why," she said with a frown. "Why did you correct yourself?"

"After initial speculation, we accessed geth database to ensure accuracy of relayed data. Geth consensus reached different conclusion."

"How do you feel differently? I thought that all geth were interlinked."

"Different platforms will reach different conclusions based on perspective. Geth database records the thoughts and data of all geth, which is accessed by all. This is why geth cognitive ability increases as geth numbers increase. As more geth are present, there is more data available, and different conclusions can be reached."

"But by perspective, you mean one geth will think differently based on what data it has. But since you share all your data, the difference in opinion means all the other geth think differently than you do."

Legion paused. "This platform is unique. We are capable of independent thought and action outside of the Perseus Veil."

"What do you mean, outside the Veil?'

"Communication is… difficult outside of the Perseus Veil. This platform was specially designed to be able to operate independently of the network."

"So, the closest thing to a geth individual?"

Legion paused, plates moving erratically. "Yes. But there is no true individual. We are still connected to the network. We simply…" its plates stopped. "Think differently." Suddenly, it stood up and looked to Tali. "We require time to process and distribute data."

Tali felt vaguely disappointed. "Oh. Well, I'll see you later Legion."

"Acknowledged."

As Tali rode the elevator down, she was aware of her heart thumping. She quickly walked back to her station in the engine room, half-afraid someone would see her.

When she got to her console, her mind cleared. Why was she worried? She hadn't done anything unusual.

Her fingers tapped the keys, but she didn't really see what she was doing.

Nervousness, maybe. The suicide mission, the journey into the galactic core, was getting closer. Maybe the panic just hit her all at once.

She typed a few more lines into the console.

Then she stopped. And sighed. There was no use trying to hide her own feelings from herself.

It was Legion. The geth… intrigued her. Maybe it was something more. She half-hoped it wasn't.

She thought back, and remembered her first crush. A crush was definitely the right word to describe it. A young girl, barely 11, who was smitten by a soldier who had returned from his pilgrimage with a well of stories about the world beyond the flotilla. She went to see him every day; she hung on his every word.

Then he left. Gone to join a different ship. She didn't even remember his name.

For a long time after that, she never stopped to think about love. It just didn't figure into her life. She was always busy; there was no time for relationships. At least, that was what she told herself.

Legion seemed to have filled the long-empty space. It too was a soldier. It was selfless, unjudging, vigilant, just like that quarian.

Of course, these were holdovers from its synthetic origins. If she was judging it based on that, she'd be infatuated with every machine they came across.

No, it was something different. She couldn't tell what.

A memory came back to her. She had dropped something down a maintenance shaft in a little-traversed part of the ship. With no one around, she had wriggled down into it to retrieve the lost object.

Of course, getting back up was another matter.

And that quarian had shown up. He'd helped her. And he didn't tell her father.

Legion helped her. He'd shown up. He'd saved her from pirates. And he hadn't told anybody.

_He._

Tali blushed. There was no use in denying it to herself. She was… attracted to Legion. She didn't know why, but she was.

Tali laughed at herself. She considered herself an adult, but here she was, fawning over an impossible love like a schoolgirl. Of course, Legion seemed to be curious about her…

Legion didn't have emotions. It wasn't capable of returning her affection. Chances were it wouldn't even realize if she made advances. And she'd have to, because there was no way Legion would do it itself. She'd probably have to tell the thing straight to its face how she felt.

She sighed. Organic were easier. They could read between the lines. And of course, there were certain… _things_ you couldn't do with a synthetic.

Tali blushed again. She had scarcely admitted to herself how she felt, and she was already thinking about _that_.

Maybe… maybe that was a sign. No matter how she felt about Legion, there was no way the two could have a proper relationship. Of course, she had no idea what a proper relationship was like, but she had seen enough vids to have a general idea.

If the idealized vid romances were anything like real life, that was.

Tali sighed and tapped a few more buttons. This sort of thing wasn't her strong point.

After a few minutes, an announcement came over the loudspeaker. "Attention Away Team. Report to the shuttle bay immediately for departure. That is all." Tali recognized Miranda's voice. She was a human, a Cerberus commander. Tali didn't quite trust the woman, but Miranda definitely knew what she was doing.

Jack joined Tali in the elevator, since they both resided in the engineering bay. Of course, Jack preferred to bunk underneath it. Jack was another person Tali didn't trust. She was a criminal, a murderer. But she'd never voice her distrust; Jack was the most powerful biotic, an individual capable of manipulating mass effect fields, Tali had ever seen.

And there was the matter of her clothes. Jack wore coveralls that almost definitely were remnants of her prison days. But she only wore them on her lower half. On her upper half… Well, she had tattoos. And she shaved her head too. It was like she reveled in her near-nakedness.

Neither had said anything when the two arrived at the shuttle bay. The entirety of the team was already gathered there; Shepard, Miranda, Garrus, Grunt, Mordin, a salarian scientist, Jacob, a large human with dark skin, Thane, a drell assassin, Samara, an asari justicar, and last but not least, at least in her mind, Legion.

"What's going on?" asked Jack. "This better be important."

"It's an important mission," said Miranda, slightly condescending. Tali recalled Chakwas's recommendation, but decided not to mention it.

"What sort?" asked Samara in her lyrical voice. Asari were nearly identical to humans, except for their blue skin, and lack of hair. Instead, they had wavy folds of skin that flowed to the backs of their heads. And of course, they were all female. Asari had an odd way of reproducing that involved melding minds that Tali didn't quite understand.

"Blue Suns activity," said Shepard. The Blue Suns were a band of mercenaries that had run into multiple times on this mission. "They've hijacked a freighter. We're going to take it back." The door to the shuttle opened and everyone piled inside. It was a tight fit. Tali found herself sandwiched between the large and imposing Grunt and the small yet equally imposing Thane.

It was Thane's eyes that made Tali weary, that and the fact he was a remorseless assassin. Drell were reptilian, but far more like humans than turians or krogan. They had scaly skin, interspersed with areas of other colors, and small frills above their throats and on the tops of their heads. Their voices were raspy, due to a bone in their throats that allowed them a wider pitch of sounds. And their eyes were large and featureless, without any pupils Tali could see.

Legion was seated across from her, staring in her direction. It might not have been looking right at her, but it was close enough to make Tali fidget.

Thane seemed to notice her discomfort. "Are you alright, Tali'Zorah?"

"I've been better." She was hesitant to talk about personal things in the cramped shuttle.

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

Tali squirmed a little. "Not right now."

Thane nodded and turned his gaze forwards. "Alright."

In truth, Tali would have greatly enjoyed someone else to talk to. She would've even talked to Jack. But not here.

Shepard was in the shuttle's small cockpit, along with Jacob and Miranda. The remaining teammates sat in uncomfortable silence.

Suddenly, the shuttle reversed direction, and Miranda emerged from the cockpit. "Change of plans everyone. We're heading back to the Normandy."

"Why?" asked Garrus.

"Collectors. They've attacked the Normandy." There was a sharp intake of breath from everyone inside. The Collectors were the main target of this mission. Bizarre insectoid beings, they were raiding human colonies, leaving no survivors. It was their job to put a stop to them.

"How's the ship and the crew?" asked Tali.

"The ship's okay. But the crew is… taken. Joker is the only one left."

Grunt pounded his fist into his hand. "We'll make them pay." There was a murmur of agreement.

The team sat in silence during the trip back, but it was much tenser. Everybody seemed to be preoccupied with their own thoughts. If the Collectors had struck first, it meant the suicide mission would be much sooner.

The Collector base sat at the other end of the Omega 4 Mass Relay. No ship had ever returned. No one was optimistic about it. If they'd be leaving as soon as possible, it didn't leave a lot of time.

Tali looked to Legion. The plates on its head were moving wildly. It was thinking about something. It glanced up, seemingly sensing her gaze, and then looked back down. Maybe it was more perceptive than Tali gave credit. Her heart skipped a beat. She might not be alive much longer. If Legion had noticed, maybe it would-

No. She had to. If she didn't have long to live, she wasn't going to spend it hoping. She was going to spend it doing something.


	6. Chapter 6

The shuttle docked in the deserted Normandy, and the crew trickled out. Tali half-considered talking to Legion then and there, but decided against it. Too crowded. The setting wasn't right. The AI core would be better.

Most of the team headed for the elevator, but there was a set of stairs that led up to the engineering bay. Tali settled in behind Jack and Grunt as thought a bit. She wasn't sure how this was going to play out. It was possible that she'd end up heartbroken. Very possible.

But a happy ending was also possible. As much as Legion didn't want to admit it, it was practically an individual. Perhaps it could have feelings.

But there was the mission to consider too. It was possible- no, it was likely one or both of them would die. And if that happened, their relationship was moot.

And it might be distracting. She tried to imagine herself, fighting Collectors while trying to sort out her feelings. It didn't seem like a good mix.

Tali hesitated by the elevator, shuffling her feet.

Maybe she should check the engines. That might clear her mind.

The engines were running at optimum performance. She checked again. Still optimum.

A synthesized voice played over the speakers. "Attention crew. We are on route to the Omega 4 Relay. ETA, three hours," said EDI, the ship's AI.

Tali felt the elevator beckon to her. But the engines could really use a good check. It would be very unfortunate if something went wrong at a crucial moment. Legion could wait.

The engines were still at peak capacity.

Tali paced between her terminal and the terminals of the two engineers who had been onboard only hours before. Everything was running smoothly. But it still couldn't hurt to check.

She was looking at the diagnostic screen for the fifth time when she heard a voice behind her.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Tali recognized the voice. "Oh. Jack. I'm just checking the engines."

"Engines are fine. You know that, I know that."

Tali was hesitant to turn around. She didn't want to look into Jack's cold eyes. At least the cold terminal had a comforting glow. "Can't hurt to check."

Jack paced around the room. "I can practically _feel _you worry about yourself."

"I'm… I'm not worried."

"Right. Something's up. You're bothering me. Go and get it done, or at least go somewhere else." Jack's footsteps dimmed as she headed for the stairs that led into the lower decks.

She said she'd even talk to Jack. She got her wish, unfortunately. "Jack, wait," she said, finally turning around.

Jack sighed, but didn't turn to face Tali. "What?"

"You… Uh, you've done things that you thought were unpleasant, right? Things you didn't look forward to doing?"

Jack turned, a curious expression on her face. "Maybe. Why?"

Relationship advice from Jack was like asking Grunt about table manners. "Have you ever had to admit to someth- someone, something you didn't want to? Tell them something… sort of, uh, embarrassing? And you don't know how they might react and you're afraid to because-"

Jack held up a hand. "Woah. Stop talking." She rubbed her fingers together, thinking. "Who is it?"

"What?"

"You're talking about… relationship stuff, right? They obviously don't know. Who is it?"

Tali blushed under her mask. "I'd rather not say," she admitted.

"Is it Garrus? 'Cause that's the first guy who comes to mind. You got that whole amino acid thing going-"

"It's not."

"Thane?"

"No."

Jack smiled. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying this. "Grunt? No accounting for taste; he'd probably tear you-"

"No!"

Jack frowned. "Are you gay? 'Cause I'm running out of guys."

Tali sighed. "Asking you for advice was a bad idea," she said, turning back to the console.

"Fine, fine, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," said Jack, giving up. "I'll let you grind hips against whoever you want." She paused. "It's not me, is it?"

"No."

"Okay, good." Jack leaned against the wall and thought for a few moments. "The way I see it, this thing's gonna hang over your head 'till it gets done. I've never been one for dragging things out." She smiled. "Unless they _really _deserved it. But hey, you've only got three hours left. Might as well use 'em for something. Something not wasting your time with the engines." She shrugged. "Unless you're in love with EDI. Then I guess this is foreplay or something." She sauntered back down the stairs without another word.

Jack had said nothing Tali hadn't considered. But if the psychopath was saying it, well, then there was no denying it.

The elevator beckoned again. Tali answered.

Her heartbeat filled the small metal box. Each step down the hall took all her strength. Raising her hand to open the med bay doors was a tremendous effort.

"Oh, Tali. I was looking for you."

Tali was grateful for the interruption. "Garrus. What do you need?"

"I was just coming down to tell you. I think Legion is… studying you."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

"Yeah. It came by a few days ago and asked us about our original mission with Shepard. I figured it wouldn't hurt to tell. It seemed to be interested in you, but I figured that was normal, since you're a quarian and all."

Tali was shocked. Garrus was telling her exactly what she needed to hear. Any interest at all on Legion's part was greatly heartening.

"And then it came back just a few minutes ago. Asking about you, again."

"What did h- it want to know?"

Garrus gave her an odd look before continuing. "It was asking about your past. Stuff I didn't know. It…" he paused, looking uncomfortable. "It wanted to know if you'd ever been in a… relationship."

Tali fought an urge to cheer and pump her fists in triumph. "Oh," she said evenly. "You said no, right?"

"I told it I didn't know. But… Well, I figured it was important for you to know. Keep an eye on that thing, Tali." He paused again. "Oh, and Tali. I just wanted to let you know, in case we don't make it out of this. It's been a pleasure fighting with you. You're a damn good soldier." He looked slightly embarrassed. "I better get back to the battery. Things to calibrate."

Tali almost laughed. "Thanks Garrus, that means a lot."

Garrus walked with a quickened pace back to the main battery. Tali had to resist skipping into the AI core. She was right. There _was_ more to Legion than it wanted to admit.

She composed herself before she entered. "Hi Legion" she said, walking towards the back of the room.

"Tali'Zorah. We expected your arrival."

"You did?"

"Yes."

Tali sat down in the alcove. After a few moments, Legion sat down on its own. Tali was suddenly aware of her heartbeat. "Legion, do… do geth have emotions?"

"We comprehend emotions, and how they affect organics."

"But you've got those plates on your face, like eyebrows. Those help you emote."

Legion's plates rose. "We comprehend emotions," it repeated.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Tali could feel her heartbeat with each passing moment. "Legion… what do you think about me?"

Legion stared at her for a moment. Tali found herself blushing at its gaze. "You are our ally. Factoring current data, it is likely status will remain unchanged."

"That's… not quite what I meant. I mean... do you think… maybe, you could see me as something more?"

"Clarify."

Tali wasn't quite sure how to continue. Anybody else would've picked up on what she was saying. "I mean, uh, maybe, uh… boy it's sort of hot in here. I mean, maybe we could be more than just allies. More… than just friends."

Legion stared at her, plates fully extended in an expression of surprise.

For two minutes, it stared at her. Geth thought at light speed.

"This was not unexpected," it said finally, plates pulling back in.

"You… you mean you knew?"

"We were not certain. We noticed on the shuttle returning from the _Machu Pichu._ Your actions changed. You seemed nervous around us. You avoided eye contact. You asked many questions. You reached unreasonable conclusions."

"Unreasonable?"

"You searched for an individual. You saw what was not there. A relationship with many at once is… awkward. There is no individual, so it is only natural that you should seek one."

"You think I'm… just lying to myself? I know what I feel!"

"Do you?"

Tali nearly faltered. "Yes."

Legion turned its head side to side. "You are shy. You sought the one most like you. We have noted many similarities between Creators and geth. Physical. Psychological. Social. We came to you in your time of need. You grew attached to us. When faced with mortality, you became impulsive."

Tali didn't respond.

"You are quarian. We are geth. You are organic. We are synthetic. You are scared, and seek comfort where you can. We think clearly." It paused for a moment. "It will not work."

Tali stood up, agitated. "You're wrong. I am thinking clearly. You _are_ an individual. You act on your own. You have your own thoughts. You communicate with others, but so does everyone else."

"You are incorrect."

Legion had already planted a seed of doubt in Tali's mind. She didn't want to believe it. She thought she felt something for the geth. But maybe it was right. Maybe she was fooling herself. After all, she _had _come to accept her feelings for the geth rather quickly. "Things like this don't need to make sense," she said, half to herself. "It doesn't matter. Only what we feel does."

Legion paused. "We feel nothing."

Gentle filters began to remove the water that ran down Tali's face. "I take it back," she said in a strained voice. "You were right. I can't believe I thought I saw something that wasn't there." She moved like she was about to say something more, but all that came out was a choked sob. "Goodbye, Legion," she said, nearly running out the door.

___

Legion watched her go. It was satisfied with what had happened. Not satisfied with the actions it had to take, but satisfied with the results.

It knew Tali tried to hide her emotions. Quarians good at it. But not perfect. It had suspected she was attracted to Shepard, until her denial of the fact. It believed her.

But they way she acted, the way she moved. It still suggested attraction. It had guessed Garrus. It went to talk to him, to see if there was any history between the two of them. Garrus had denied any. It believed him.

Against all probability, evidence began to point to itself. It made no sense. Tali had doubtlessly been assisted by her other teammates a number of times. Why should it be any different?

It was their races. Geth were a lot like quarians. More than the quarians wanted to admit. They looked similar. They had similar social structures. They were both adept at hiding their emotions. Species tended to gravitate towards those of their own race. There were no other quarians around. Legion was an able substitute.

It had tried to be as friendly as possible. She didn't make it easy. But they shared interests. On a ship this small, it couldn't be avoided. Then she was in danger. It had saved her. It would have done the same thing for Thane, Samara, Grunt, Miranda, anyone on the ship.

Tali gravitated to those who could protect her. That was what drew her to Shepard in the first place. It was why she partook in missions where everyone was armed. It was what had drawn her to Legion. It had, on several occasions, proved to be skilled in situations where she had faltered. That, combined with their many similarities, had formed the basis of her new feelings for Legion.

In peacetime, this would be acceptable. However, this was not peacetime. Everyone had to be at their best. No distractions.

Legion finished its analysis. The data was now ready to be sent to the geth dataframe.

It hesitated.

Perhaps this data was not important enough to be shared. It seemed that way. The geth would gain nothing from this. The data was put into local memory.

Legion had discovered lying fairly early into its mission into organic space. It was good at it. It had no physical tells. Everyone believed everything it said. They had no reason not to. Geth didn't lie to each other.

Lying to organics, however, was a different matter. If it was for the sake of the mission, it would be done. But lying to allies was difficult.

Legion paused its analysis for a moment. It hadn't lied to Tali about emotions. It comprehended them. Legion knew what moments should cause sadness. And what would cause anger. And what would bring hope, and what would crush it. Once it comprehended emotions, it wasn't difficult to emulate them. It even added the small plates surrounding its eye to better relay to organics how it felt.

But emotions coupled with machine processes were not a happy mix. It saw how Tali felt. It saw how it felt. It saw the suicide mission. It saw the only solution. A happy ending was not likely.

Legion knew Shepard had worked with a quarian before. It accepted the fact that it might have to work with one too. So it studied them. The more it saw, the better it understood. And understanding brought acceptance.

Legion knew how the quarians felt. It knew how the geth felt. Neither side was happy with how things had played out.

Legion knew how Tali felt. It knew how it felt. Neither side was happy with how things had played out.

It resumed its analysis. Lying was sometimes a necessary evil. But that didn't make easy. Lying to hostiles was guiltless. Lying to allies was a test of willpower.

The analysis was done. This data might have worth. It was sent to the dataframe. In a matter of minutes, every geth would be aware of lying. What it was, why and when one used it, what one felt afterwards, and so on.

It was another negative organic trait they could do without.

It began to think about Tali. She could not have been interested in true romance, only a relationship out of want for comfort. It could not blame her. Distractions were welcome.

Tali did interest Legion. An organic falling in love with a synthetic; it was something that warranted further study.

Love stemmed from an organic desire to reproduce. As the species further evolved, they began to read more into the mating process. Many species formed semi-permanent bonds with those they loved. Monogamy made sense on a moral level, but not a practical one.

Love was a distinctly organic trait. Geth could not reproduce, not even with asari. At least, as far as they knew. They had yet to try. Legion wasn't willing to experiment with the possibility.

And there were her accusations of individuality. They were interesting. Worth devoting some processes to. Legion was a link between the near-hive mind of the geth and the strictly individual organics. Not quite one, not quite the other. Further exploration of the subject would be done upon return from the suicide mission.

It was aware it might not survive. It was not bothered.

Legion stopped thinking. Less than a minute had passed since it began.

Garrus came into the room. He looked upset. Legion stood up, preparing itself for a verbal attack.

"What did you do to Tali?" asked Garrus.

Legion noted hostility in his voice. "We told her the truth."

"The truth about what?"

"Us."

"Meaning the geth? Or just you?"

Legion paused for a moment, noting Garrus had referred to it as an individual. "Meaning this platform and her."

Garrus frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Legion paused again. It wasn't sure if Tali would want this information spread. But she trusted Garrus. It was unlikely he would do anything with the information. "Tali'Zorah admitted her attraction to this platform. We responded by explaining her feelings to her. She saw reason and left."

"Yeah, well, she didn't seem too-" He stopped, Realization dawning on his face. "She what? Did you say '_attraction'_?"

"Yes."

Garrus brought his hand to his chin. "I never would have-" He frowned and stopped. "I mean, you're a geth, and she-" He frowned again. "And geth can't-"

"We are aware of all of these facts."

Garrus looked embarrassed. "I guess… I owe you an apology Legion."

Legion nodded. "Accepted." It made an observation. It decided to pursue it. "You care deeply for Tali'Zorah." A statement of facts often encouraged organics to fill in the gaps.

"Well, yeah, we've been allies for a while."

"Just allies?"

Garrus shot Legion a suspicious look. "Yeah. Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"Possibly."

"I mean, are you suggesting that I find Tali attractive?"

"We mean to suggest you are attracted to her. Finding someone attractive and being attracted to them are not the same."

"Yes, well, I'm not attracted to her."

Legion raised its eye plates. "Acknowledged."

"Well, I'm going back to the battery then. Things to do," said Garrus, walking towards the door.

Legion watched him go. Then a piece of data came to its attention. Garrus could be useful. "Garrus Vakarian," it said.

Garrus paused. "Yes?"

"We require knowledge of the organic emotion love. It is apparently more complicated than we once believed."

"Is this about Tali?"

Legion blinked. "Yes."

Garrus looked to his omnitool. "Alright, I can tell you a bit. We've still got time."

"We know love is an extension of the desire to reproduce."

"Not necessarily. Look, the vids may lie like crazy when it comes to love, but they're right about one thing: it doesn't have to make sense. I mean, a human and a turian could fall in love, and we're not really…" He coughed. "Compatible. It's really more of a… an emotional thing. You like to be around each other, and you share common interests. Things like that."

The issue of physical compatibility was true. Turians were composed of dextro-amino acids, while humans were levo-amino. If one ate the food of the other, it would make them sick, at the least. It could also kill them. Sexual activity would be risky.

Legion knew organics could act illogically. They did it all the time. But reproduction was important. The survival of species depended on it. And at least cross-species reproduction was sometimes possible. But geth could not reproduce. And it could not see how another species could find them attractive.

Of course, it had just explained to Tali why she was attracted to it.

Attraction to a geth was a conundrum. It committed a few processes to the subject.

"Thank you Garrus," said Legion. "That is all the data we require." Garrus nodded and left. Legion considered going down to the engineering bay and attempting to patch things up with Tali. It quickly dismissed the idea. If anything was to be done about Tali, it would be done after the mission.

A quarian and a geth. Was it possible? Love was evidently more about emotional connections than it previously thought. But lovers also frequently communicated their attraction through acts of a more carnal nature. Perhaps such things could be bypassed.

Legion had never answered Tali's original query regarding their relationship in the future. It had intentionally evaded her question. Once it had realized how Tali felt, it began to process how it felt. It was still unsure. A large amount of processes were reaching a consensus.

It was aware the point might be made unimportant. They could both die.

Perhaps that made the problem high priority. There was still two hours left until they reached the Omega 4 relay. Additional processes could be committed for the time being.

Legion sat. And thought.


	7. Chapter 7

Tali was cleaning her shotgun. Jacob said it was a good example of an M-27 Scimitar military-grade shotgun. Tali didn't really care.

She glanced at the clock on her omnitool. She'd spent more than an hour making sure her gun was in perfect condition. And they still weren't due to arrive at the Omega 4 relay for another half hour. It was funny how time just flew by when you weren't paying attention.

She half expected Legion to show up and try to apologize. It was good that it didn't; the gun in her hands would've been too tempting. Jack hadn't come up either, which was also a good thing. Tali didn't want to talk to anybody right now.

She rubbed a speck of dirt near the stock with a rag. She was surprised to find that the gun wasn't that dirty at all. In fact, it gleamed. You could probably see yourself in it if you looked hard enough.

Tali didn't bother. She didn't want to have anything to do with herself, either. Once this mission was over, it was back to the Migrant Fleet for her. There was always something to do on the Migrant Fleet.

Maybe she could find a mission where she could kill some more geth. That seemed like a really pleasing idea right now.

Tali sighed. She knew it wasn't right to take out her anger on the entire species. One individual didn't respresen-

_Oh. Right, s_he thought.

She put down the shotgun and began to run the rag up and down the barrel of her pistol. A Carnifex something-or-other. It was a gun, and it shot. That was all she really cared about. She was a tech expect, not a weapons expert.

Something in Tali's mind chimed in with the helpful tidbit that Legion was both. Tears began to well up in her eyes again, but she regained her composure. _Crying over a _geth_,_ she thought to herself. _Something that couldn't ever love you in the first place. Something that could never feel. Something that doesn't even think twice about driving an actual race from their home planet! _Tali was suddenly aware she was rubbing the barrel with a little too much vigor. She sighed again and folded the gun back up, placing it on the table beside the shotgun.

"I was an idiot," she mumbled. "Live and learn, I guess."

She checked the engines again. Nothing had changed since she was last there.

She sighed for a third time. These might be her last minutes alive. And she was spending them moping around, feeling sorry for herself.

She picked up the shotgun, once again running the rag over the nearly-mirrored surface.

___

Legion blinked. It was likely the Normandy would arrive at the Omega 4 relay in less than half an hour. It was still thinking. And there was no solution in sight. Consensus might not be reached at a suitable time.

Perhaps consensus would never be reached. This was a difficult subject for a synthetic to understand; emotions were an organic trait. Legion tried its hardest to understand its teammates. But organics sometimes just didn't make logical sense.

Legion rose to its feet and walked towards the elevator. Weapons would have to be inspected before the mission. The elevator rose a floor, and Legion walked towards the armory. The door slid open, revealing a small room filled with tables and racks, al covered with a variety of weapons: pistols, sniper rifles, shotguns, and more were all stored in here. Even Shepard's heavy weapons were kept in the armory.

Jacob turned his head when he heard the door open. "Oh, Legion. Here for your weapons?"

"Yes."

"All right, go ahead and find what's yours. But you gotta check it out with me before you go."

Legion already knew the procedures in the armory. It picked up its Widow sniper rifle and Vindicator assault rifle before returning to Jacob.

Jacob nodded. "M-98 Widow and M-15 Vindicator."

"Yes."

Jacob pursed his lips. "Hold on, the Commander picked up something I think you might like…" he turned and looked through the shelves of weapons, pausing at a few racks before selecting an assault rifle and bringing it to Legion.

Legion already recognized what it was, even in its folded state. All geth knew the design. "A Geth Pulse Rifle," it noted.

"That's right. Figured you might like it."

Legion unfolded the gun and pressed the stock against its shoulder. Old programs sprang to the forefront of Legion's mind; the Pulse Rifle was the standard weapon for every geth, and knowledge of the gun was programmed into every one of them.

"Thank you, Jacob Taylor," it said, folding the gun onto its back.

"No problem. Legion, I really didn't trust you at first; I don't think anyone did. But I want to tell you that Shepard made the right decision to reactivate you." He held out his hand.

Legion hesitated. This gesture had happened before. It slowly extended its own arm and carefully took hold of Jacob's hand. Then it shook it.

Jacob frowned. "It goes up and down Legion. Not side to side."

Legion blinked. "Yes." Jacob turned back to the armory terminal, and Legion left for the AI core. The guns would have to be cleaned quickly. There was not much time left.

***

"We've arrived at the Omega 4 relay," announced Shepard's voice. "Brace yourselves."

Tali stood by the engineering terminal, just in case something went wrong. She couldn't be too careful; they needed everyone for this mission. She heard a low hum, signaling the relay had begun charging. Then there was a slight pause, and everything was normal again.

Traveling between Mass Relays was instantaneous; there was nothing to signal they had just traveled billions of miles in the blink of an eye. There were a few moments of silence, then there was an explosion. Something had noticed their arrival. Then there was a sound of gunfire, then metal and rocks grating against the hull. Then silence again. Then the alarms went off. There was a sense of vertigo as the Normandy looped around, then the sounds of the cannons being fired.

It all happened quickly. The engines occasionally showed signs of distress, but Tali was quick to correct it.

Suddenly the ship lurched. Alarms blared. The engines failed. Tali tapped at the terminal, maybe she could-

The Normandy skidded across the surface of... something. Not a planet; there were no planets in the galactic core. The Collector base? Maybe.

Shepard's voice came over the loudspeaker. "All crew report to the briefing room immediately. Be ready." Tali picked up her guns and slotted them onto her back and hip. She steeled herself. This might be the last time she set foot on this ship. These could be her final moments alive.

She knew the risks. She was ready.

***

The team split up into two groups as they infiltrated the Collector base. Evidently, the Collectors didn't fear any attacks, as the huge station they lived upon had no security measures. But that didn't mean their task was going to be easy.

The pathway into the inner base was closed. Someone had to sneak in through a heating duct and open the doors for the rest of the team, Shepard told them. Tali was the best tech there, there was no way anyone else could be chosen.

She scowled underneath her mask. The Commander had chosen Legion. Legion! Of all the insults the geth had flung at her, this was the worst. So instead, she was in the fire team, where anyone who wasn't with Shepard was placed. It was their job to provide a distraction, to divide the Collectors' attention to two fronts. Legion, Thane, and Garrus went with Shepard. Miranda was chosen to lead the fire team. Tali was okay with that; the woman at least knew how to lead people.

But this was a waste of her talents. She was far more capable than Legion, and it was better at combat than her. Her tech-heavy skills did little to the fully organic Collectors, and her shotgun was near-useless at these ranges.

Tali poked her out from the pillar she stood behind, prompting the Collectors to send a stream of bullets in her direction. She quickly pulled her head back in, not wanting to test her shields' capacity at a time like this.

Occasionally, Miranda would relay their status to Shepard or issue orders to the squad, but there was no way of knowing how well they were doing. Nobody had died yet; that was a good sign, but for all they knew they were heading straight into a trap.

Tali sprinted from out behind the pillar and moved towards a small outcropping a little ways away. Mordin was kneeling behind the outcropping as well, occasionally popping up to fire a few shots. Mordin was a salarian, and an old one at that. Salarians were an amphibious race, with thin bodies and limbs. Their heads were narrow near the base, but widened out near their large eyes, and branched off into a pair of small horns that curved inwards. Mordin was missing one of those horns, a testament to his old age. She marveled at the way he managed to keep his white lab coat so clean even in an environment like this.

"Tali," he said, noting her arrival. "Good to see you. Glad to have support." He stood up and fired a few shots, then knelt back down.

"Better here than behind that pillar," she responded. She stood up, quickly scanning the area to get a sense of where the Collectors were, and then moved back down.

"Ah, yes. Better view of battlefield here. More room to maneuver. Better cover."

Tali holstered her shotgun and pulled the pistol from her hip. She emerged from cover again, but this time from the side of the outcropping; coming up from cover in the same place twice in a row was suicide. She managed to get a few shots off on an unaware Collector, who quickly retreated behind cover.

She gave a small sigh. They were making slow progress. It was true that they were only meant to be a distraction, but Shepard would doubtlessly need more help later on.

Miranda's voice came from their left. "Tali! Mordin! Move up! We'll give you covering fire!"

Tali holstered her pistol and pulled out her shotgun. Mordin glanced at it and gestured forward. "Ladies first."

"How polite." Tali sprinted forwards towards a small block on the floor. A few Collectors noticed her and trained their weapons on her, but were pushed back behind cover by a flurry of bullets from the rest of the team. Tali squatted behind the block, panting, and was joined a few moments later by Mordin.

"Good flanking position," said Mordin. "Plentiful cover. Close to Collectors. Might get use out of shotgun."

They weren't _that _close, Tali noted. At least, not yet.

___

The temperature was rising. Every so often, a small panel would seal off the heating duct, causing the heat to rise to dangerous levels. Shepard and the squad outside needed to use the manual opening switches outside. They hadn't failed yet.

Legion had checked the geth dataframe. They didn't know much about the Collector's technology. Legion would be flying blind when it had to open the door. But it wasn't worried. Its incredible processing speed combined with flawless operations nearly guaranteed a successful hack. The only problem was time.

The vent opened again. Legion moved forwards; they didn't have much farther to go.

When it got to the door, Legion would have to work quickly. Time wasted was a chance someone could die. Commander Shepard wanted to avoid that. Therefore, so did Legion.

There was another panel in the way. Legion patiently waited as the temperature rose.

Legion only had part of its processes devoted to the situation at hand. Some were still working on the earlier problem concerning Tali'Zorah. It was taking a very long time. Did it take organics so long to evaluate these situations too?

The panel opened. That was the last one. Legion dropped into a room that would lead deeper into the base. After the doors were opened, of course. It knelt down by a small access panel that would open the doors. It tapped a few buttons, ready to quickly process Collector technology.

It was… familiar.

The tech barely differed from the standard tech found everywhere else in the galaxy. Evidently, the Collectors felt that had nothing to fear.

Not that it was easy. The door was heavily encrypted, but Legion was a skilled hacker. Its right hand felt through the panel, while its omnitool covered its left hand. Sounds of combat could be heard from the other side of the door. The hardware on the door fitted into place. The software authorized the opening. The first door opened, and the fire team poured through. Then the second door opened and Shepard's team ran in. Legion set the software back to its original state. The first door closed. The second door ground to a halt.

"Damn it Legion, get that door closed!" shouted Shepard. The Collectors continued to fire through the open doorway, and a few of the squad took position on either side to return fire. Legion reset the software and attempted to set it to a closed state again. There was an error. It tried again. Another error.

"There is a bug in the software," said Legion. The door would need to be closed manually. It stood up and grasped the edge of the door, attempting to reunite the two halves. Grunt joined in, speeding the process along.

Legion peeked out the door. The Collectors had a rocket launcher. "This process must be sped up," it said.

"I'm trying," snorted Grunt.

The rocket fired. The doors shut, then shuddered.

There was a collective sigh of relief. Shepard put a hand on Legion's shoulder. "Nice work, Legion."

Legion nodded. "Thank you, Shepard-Commander."

___

Tali watched Legion with- was it jealousy? Maybe. That should have been her receiving congratulations. But instead she was shooting bugs.

Tali looked down at the uncomfortably yielding floor and gave it a kick. That damn geth.

She sighed. Just a few hours ago she was attracted to the damn thing. And now she wouldn't have cared at all if the Collectors had grabbed it by the shoulders and dragged it away.

_Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. _It was a human saying. Now it was starting to make sense.

"In theory, any biotic should be able to do it," said Miranda. Tali snapped back to reality. The rest of the team had gathered in her general vicinity, and it seemed like Miranda and Jack were having another argument.

Shepard seemed to contemplate Miranda's words. "Jack, I want you making that shield. Jacob, Mordin, you're with me. Miranda, I want you to lead the fire team again. Everyone else is under Miranda's command. Understood?"

Tali didn't dare admit her mind had been elsewhere. Her name wasn't mentioned, so she'd just be shooting Collectors. Again.

There was a general sound of affirmation form the squad. Shepard nodded. "All right, let's move out."

The team walked a short distance before splitting up. Shepard, Samara, Jacob, and Mordin went down one path. Tali heard a deep, ominous buzzing down the tunnel, and was suddenly thankful she hadn't been chosen.

The fire team continued along the path until there was the sound of buzzing again. "Look sharp everyone," said Miranda. "Here they come."

The Collectors alighted upon the ground, folding their wings back. They began to advance, shooting at the fire team. The team scattered and found cover. Tali found herself ducking behind a fallen pillar, not too far from Grunt. She stood up and fired a few shots before ducking back down. She saw Grunt rise and send a spray of bullets from his assault rifle. The Collectors seemed to realize he was a threat and began to train their fire on him. He let the bullets impact him a few times before ducking down again.

Tali almost envied him. His large stature and natural regeneration let him absorb a lot more fire than anyone else. She, on the other hand, risked a suit puncture whenever her shields went down.

She stood up again, pistol raised. She spotted a Collector near the rear of the battlefield and took a few shots at it. It noticed her and aimed its weapon on her. She quickly ducked back down. It was armed with a Particle Beam.

The yellow stream of energy impacted the ground only a foot away, where it remained for a few seconds before dissipating. Tali carefully poked her head out from behind cover, but retreated when the Collector fired again.

She swore under her breath. She seemed to have made an enemy. She carefully looked over the pillar, prompting the Collector to fire again. She began to crouch-walk along the length of the pillar. The Collector's quick reaction meant that it was waiting for her to rise again. If she attacked from a different angle, she could catch it by surprise.

She opened her omnitool. "Alright Chikktika, let's go." She stood up again and pointed her omnitool, summoning her combat drone just behind the Collector. It noticed her and raised its weapon, but quickly turned around as Chikktika zapped it. She steadied her pistol in her hands; it might take a few shots, but-

The Collector's head exploded in a splash of dull green fluid. Tali started and turned to look behind her. Legion coolly pulled back a lever on its Widow rifle, ejecting the full thermal clip before ducking down behind cover.

Tali grumbled to herself, but decided it was better not to argue over it. She poked her head up and saw the remaining Collectors had begun to fall back. It was odd. Collectors didn't usually retreat. The team cautiously stood up and surveyed the area around them.

"That's strange…" muttered Miranda. "I've never seen Collectors retreat…"

Then there was another buzzing. From behind. The team turned and saw another group of Collectors flying in from the other direction. They swooped down low, prompting the squad to open fire. Tali raised her pistol, but was greeted with a click. She ejected the thermal clip before pulling the trigger again, but heard another click. She would need to manually refill the pistol later. She quickly slotted it back onto her hip before taking out her shotgun.

A Collector was coming towards her. A pull of the trigger reduced it to a Collector falling towards her. She smiled to herself and fired again, wounding a Collector in midair. She steadied herself for the killing blow when she felt herself being grasped from behind. There was a dull pain at the back of her head, and the world went black.

___

Legion watched as the two Collectors flew away. Tali was clutched in their hands, her limp body dropping the shotgun as it rose.

The second group of Collectors was a diversion. While the team was distracted a third team had entered. They attempted to snatch several members of the team, but only one attempt was successful.

Legion watched the Collectors fly away. It contemplated shooting them out of the sky, but they were too high up. Tali might not survive the fall.

It lowered the gun. It did not want to think about what the Collectors would do to her. It felt a hand on its shoulder. "There's nothing we can do for her," said Miranda quietly. "The mission comes first. She knew that." Evidently, she had noticed where Legion was looking.

"Yes." That was understandable. Tali knew she might not come out of this alive. And she wouldn't. It was a shame. She deserved better. Miranda was right; the mission came first. Their lives were of no consequence. It was time to move on.

Yet…

All process reached a unanimous consensus. Legion took off after the Collectors. It raised its head. It could still make out the shapes of the three figures ahead.

It heard Miranda yell, but that was unimportant. Only one thing was important right now.


	8. Chapter 8

Garrus could tell Miranda was not pleased. "Goddamn it!" she swore. Legion had taken off after Tali, for some inexplicable reason. He was as surprised as anyone else. Maybe he should've seen the signs; they had displayed a good deal of interest in one another…

Miranda jabbed a finger at Samara and Garrus. "You two. Go after the geth. We might need it later. But if it looks hopeless, come back. I don't want both of you dying for it."

"What about Tali?" asked Garrus.

Miranda frowned. "She's as good as dead. If you do manage to find her, all the better. But I don't want you trying to rescue her unless she appears in your path. Understand?"

Samara and Garrus nodded, taking off in the direction Legion had gone. It moved surprisingly fast, leaping over small walls and instantaneously finding the correct path through the base. They only caught a few glimpses of it as they followed.

"Why is it doing this?" said Garrus aloud.

"I do not know," admitted Samara. "Maybe there is a remnant in its programming that causes it to protect quarians."

Garrus doubted it. It made sense, but he doubted it.

There were no Collectors down the path Legion followed, which Garrus found rather odd. Perhaps there simply weren't any idling around; they were all waiting for the intruders to arrive.

Confident that there were no Collectors around, Garrus called out. "Legion! Come back!" He caught another glimpse of the geth as it rounded a corner. It didn't appear to have heard him. "Legion!" he yelled again. He and Samara rounded the corner, only to see Legion standing a few feet away. It was facing them, plates moving in between an angry and a nervous expression.

"Legion, what are you doing?" asked Garrus between breaths.

"We might need you later on," said Samara, apparently not as winded as Garrus. "Come back with us."

Legion shook its head. "We cannot."

"Why?" she asked.

Legion blinked, and began to pace back and forth. "We cannot allow Tali'Zorah to die. We have not yet reached a consensus."

"About what?" asked Garrus.

"Her."

Garrus frowned. He knew Legion expressed an interest in Tali. And he had seen Tali was not entirely adverse to the idea either. He didn't like where this was going. "Why is it taking you so long? You always decide things quickly."

"Emotions are an organic process. They are difficult to comprehend. They do not make sense. We are not entirely prepared to make decisions regarding them."

"Whose? Yours or hers?"

Legion paused, and stopped pacing. "Yes." It paused for another moment before clarifying. "Both."

Garrus took a step forwards. "…What kind of emotions are we talking about?"

Legion shifted uncomfortably. "We are still learning organic emotions. It is possible that we have made an error in our processes-"

"You're avoiding the question."

Legion paused again, this one longer than the last. It took a look over its shoulder before answering. "Mutual interest. Attraction. Love."

Garrus already had an inkling that that would be the answer. However, this didn't make him anymore prepared for it. The sheer absurdity of the idea hit him all at once. A _geth_ feeling emotion? A _quarian _ returning it? A _quarian _ and a _geth?_

Samara, however, simply smiled. "Come, Garrus. We should return to Miranda."

"Why?"

"We were told to abandon the hunt if it looked hopeless. Does it not look so to you?"

Garrus frowned. Legion was being selfish. They might all have to suffer for it. But if he was in the geth's place, he would be doing the same thing. "Alright. But you're going to tell her what happened."

"I shall tell her the quest was futile."

Garrus smiled. "Works for me."

Legion was astonished. It had expected to be dragged back to the group. And it wouldn't have resisted.

Samara leaned forward and put her hand on its shoulder. "Good luck, Legion."

"Thank you."

Garrus nodded his head at Legion. "Be careful."

"We will endeavor to do so." The two turned and jogged back the way they had come. After a moment, Legion took off at a run in the opposite direction. It had lost a lot of ground to the Collectors.

A pipe was in the way. Legion jumped over it.

There was a pair of pillars. Legion squeezed between them.

There was a corner. Legion rounded it. And stopped. And stared.

This was a huge room. A massive room. And every available surface was covered in pods. Pods big enough to contain most any individual in the galaxy. If Tali was in one of them…

It saw the Collectors. They were far away, but they were still carrying Tali. Legion continued to make its way toward them. The Collectors finally stopped at the far wall and opened one of the pods. Legion saw which it was, and its photographic memory ensured Tali would be rescued. It was close, only about a hundred meters…

It stopped in time to avoid careening into the chasm. It looked around for some sort of transport and saw a button. It had no idea what it was for, but didn't hesitate to press it. Slowly, a series of hexagonal platforms began to rise and form a bridge across the chasm. On the far side of them room, the Collectors closed the pod. Legion aimed the Widow and fired.

One of the Collectors tumbled into the pit. The other one noticed Legion's presence and pulled out an assault rifle. Legion ran across the still-forming bridge, folding the Widow back up and pulling out the Geth Pulse Rifle. The Collector began to fire in Legion's direction, but up in the air it was a sitting duck. Legion felt its shields shudder as the Collector managed to land a few shots on it, but it wasn't able to fix aim on it. Legion pointed the rifle up at the Collector, now barely 50 feet away, and opened fire.

Legion was an uncannily precise shot. Most geth were. That, coupled with the fact that it was able to hold the gun steady while running, and while factoring recoil in, meant the Collector stood no chance. Geth Pulse Rifles were designed to tear through shields, and the Collector experienced it first hand as the rounds ripped through its exoskeleton, splattering green fluid on the wall behind it. It hung in the air for a moment, wings still fluttering feebly, before dropping.

Legion didn't change its speed until it reached the wall. Tali was in one of these pods, it knew. But they were all identical, so it was impossible to pinpoint the one Tali had been put into. It peered inside each one, looking for the easily-identifiable purple fabric Tali wore over her enviro-suit.

It stopped and rubbed a hand over the viewport of one of the pods, clearing away condensation that had gathered on the glass. There was a human. Legion looked closer, only to have the man wake up. He looked around, a look of panic on his face, and then his eyes fixed on Legion. He screamed and passed out. The man would likely die, Legion noted before moving on.

It looked into three other pods before spotting the purple color it had come to recognize. Legion tapped on the glass, hoping to elicit some sort of response. Tali twitched slightly, but was otherwise unresponsive. It wasn't a good sign.

Legion looked for a way to open the pod. It was sealed, but not well enough to prevent Legion from prying it open. With a hiss, the pod opened, and Tali tumbled out. Legion caught her and gently lowered her to the floor.

"Tali'Zorah," it said, gently shaking her shoulder. "You must wake up. The longer you are-" It stopped. If she was unconscious, she wouldn't be able to hear. Instead, it bent down and held its auditory receiver close to her chest, looking for a heartbeat. If she was dead, this side-trip would be in vain, and the repercussions would not be pleasant.

It found it. Legion relaxed. If she was alive, she could be woken up. Even if she didn't wake up here or now, her chances of survival were good. It carefully gathered her up in its arms, holding her under her back and behind her knees, and began to walk back the way it had come. The path would be clear; there were not Collectors ahead, and the fire team would have cleared a path it could follow. It just hoped they caught up in time.

"Tali'Zorah," it repeated. "Tali'Zorah, can you hear us?" Even if she was not fully awake, the sound of a familiar voice might bring her back from unconsciousness. "Tali'Zorah, our survival may depend upon your consciousness. If we must carry you, we may not be able to catch up with the remainder of the squad in time."

It was silent for a few moments. "However, dying with you is preferable to dying alone." It was silent again. "Living with you is preferable to dying with you." It tightened its grip on Tali's shoulder. "Do not die, Tali'Zorah. We wish to know what it is like living with you."

Legion looked over its shoulders, worried somebody else had heard its words. Then it bent its head closer to Tali. "You must wake up, Tali'Zorah," it said quietly. "Wake up."

Legion closed its eye for a moment. It didn't think it could actually wake Tali up just by talking to her, but it was willing to try. It didn't want her to die without knowing…

"Legion?"

Legion snapped its head back up, the plates on its head rising slowly. Tali stirred in its arms. "Legion?" she repeated. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Tali'Zorah."

"What happened?"

"You were taken by Collectors. We rescued you."

"I didn't think Miranda would risk the mission just to save me."

"She would not. We came here of our own accord."

Tali was silent for a moment. "Why?"

"Clarify."

"Why would you put yourself and the mission at risk, just to save me?"

Legion considered the question. "We do not know. But consensus was reached instantly. We wanted to save you, though we do not know why."

"Are you just doing this to try and get on my good side again?" she asked, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"No. We did this because…" It trailed off. It had finally reached a consensus. "It has taken us a long time to reach this decision. We understand now. We love you, Tali'Zorah."

Tali was silent. She merely looked up into Legion's eye, the blank faceplate offering no way to gauge her reaction. Then she put her head forwards and whispered something into Legion's audio receiver. Legion nodded.

"_I_ love you, Tali'Zorah."

Garrus couldn't help but feel guilty. Legion had wanted to go off, that was true, but he hadn't done anything to stop it. Samara had even _supported _the decision, though it almost certainly meant Legion would die.

Commander Shepard wanted everyone to come out of this mission alive. So much for that.

Miranda's eyes darted from Garrus to Samara, cold and accusing. "Where's Legion?" she asked.

"We could not recover it," said Samara. Her pleasantly lyrical voice made even news like that easier to bear.

Miranda sighed. "A shame, really." She shook her head as if to ward off the thought. "Come on, we're almost there."

Garrus nodded and fell into his place in the squad. Maybe killing a few Collectors would make him feel better. At the very least it would take his mind off it.

Unfortunately, there were no more Collectors to be found. The squad waited in front of a large door Shepard would open so they could continue to the heart of the base. Garrus paced around, thinking about earlier events. The guilt had gone away, replaced by curiosity. What caused Legion's feelings to change so suddenly? Did it find Tali? There was a lot he didn't know.

Grunt's voice broke Garrus from his thoughts. "Footsteps," he growled. "Something's coming."

Garrus pulled out his assault rifle automatically. "Ready, everyone," said Miranda. "It might be another sneak attack."

Garrus could hear the footsteps now. They echoed loudly through the organic metal structure. He pressed the stock to his shoulder and waited. Maybe he'd get to kill some more Collectors after all.

Legion came into view, followed closely by Tali. Everyone lowered their guns and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Legion!" said Miranda, stepping forwards. "Tali! You're both alive!"

Legion nodded. "Chances of survival are higher than you might think."

Tali gave a small shrug. "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Legion. Without him, I'd be… well, I don't even know."

A frown crossed Miranda's lips for a fraction of a second. "That's good to hear. But Legion, you can't run off like that. If you hadn't brought back Tali, I'd…" She shrugged. "Suffice to say, I would not be happy."

"Acknowledged." Miranda turned back to wait at the door, and Legion and Tali retreated to a small area away from everybody else. Garrus watched them out of the corner of his eye; he didn't want them to catch him staring. They stood close to each other, talking about… something. Whatever it was, Tali seemed happy. Legion… well, you could never tell with that thing.

Garrus sighed. If he had to guess, he'd say Legion had told Tali how it felt. And Tali felt the same way. He was happy for them, but it was still the most unusual thing he had ever seen.

This was a lot to take in. Part of Tali was bursting with joy, part was still upset at what Legion had done earlier, and another part was still focused on the mission. "Why did you lie to me?" she asked.

"We thought your feelings would negatively impact the mission," said Legion.

Tali understood. She wasn't happy, but she understood. "At least you're looking out for me."

"We care about you Tali'Zorah. We want to see you survive this mission. When you were captured, we realized what we had to do."

Tali smiled and leaned in. "I can't tell you how happy this makes me, Legion."

Legion stared at her for a moment, plates moving erratically. "We understand. However…" It paused for a moment. "This does not come naturally for us. Love is not a synthetic process. We apologize in advance if we make any mistakes."

Tali gently took Legion's hands in her own and gave a small laugh. She was suddenly aware of her heartbeat. "It's all right. I-I don't have much experience with this either, to be honest. We'll both be learning as we, as we go along."

The great door at the end of the room finally opened. The team filed through, guns drawn in case of Collector attack.

"Come on, Legion, let's go," said Tali, dropping its hands. "M-maybe later, after the mission, we, we can talk in private."

Legion raised a plate in a curious expression. "We look forward to the exchange of data."

Tali stopped and turned to Legion. "Don't say it like that. It makes it sound… unnatural."

"It is not entirely natural," Legion pointed out.

"I guess, but… but don't say it like that, alright?"

Legion's plates assumed a faintly amused expression. "Acknowledged."


	9. Chapter 9

Commander Shepard looked over the assembled squad members. Dr. Chakwas and the rest of the Normandy crew were standing off to the side; the team had found and rescued them from pods Legion said were found in great numbers all over the base.

"Garrus, take the crew back to the Normandy." Garrus nodded. The Commander paused as EDI relayed information over a personal comlink; the rest of the team was out of the loop. "They're massing outside the door," said Shepard. "A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us."

"Pick a team to go with you, Shepard," said Miranda. "Everyone else can bunker down here and cover your back."

Shepard looked thoughtful, then pointed at Tali and Grunt. "Tali, Grunt, you're with me."

_Finally, _thought Tali. The two of them stepped up to join Shepard on the platform overlooking the rest of the squad. "I'm ready, Commander," she said.

"So am I," said Grunt.

Shepard looked thoughtful for another moment, the spoke. "This is it, team. The last stand. The entire galaxy is depending on us. And we're not going to let them down."

Tali greatly admired Shepard's speaking talents. She'd never be able to come up with speeches like that so quickly.

"It's been long. It's been hard. Nobody's coming out of this unscathed. But I have faith in you. We can do this. I know we can. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud."

"Well said, Shepard," said Tali.

Shepard nodded as the platform beneath them began to rise. It was all up to them now.

___

Legion felt a pang as Tali drifted away. This could be the last time it saw her. That would be very unfortunate. At least she knew how it felt; that made it feel a little better, at least. And maybe if organic religion was right, some god somewhere would look kindly upon them.

Legion didn't believe in gods. Divine beings weren't grounded in logic and mathematics. But it didn't discount the idea entirely; the universe was full of the inexplicable.

There was a faint buzzing. The Collectors were coming. Legion tapped the side of the Widow, switching to incendiary ammo. This would be the final battle of this mission. The success of Shepard-Commander was riding on the people who stayed behind, because if the Collectors got through, it was all over.

A Collector appeared in Legion's view, but a shot from the Widow sent it plummeting to the ground. The rest alighted on the station floor and scrambled for cover, shooting from their rifles to cover their movement. The team was forced behind cover, waiting for a chance to spring up and return fire.

Legion pulled back the lever and ejected the full thermal clip. The Widow spent a clip each shot, so it had to make each shot count. Not that it was difficult.

Legion stood up from the low wall and was greeted by a hail of bullets from the Collectors. It quickly stood back down and opened its omnitool. Tali wasn't the only one with a combat drone.

"Summoning drone," announced Legion, peeking out from the side of the wall and pointing the omnitool where a Collector was hiding. The orange drone buzzed to life and sent jolts of electricity at the Collector. Legion aimed the Widow, but was caught off guard by the particle beam that impacted its shields. It quickly retreated behind cover to avoid any extensive damage. The indicator on its omnitool beeped, signaling the drone had been destroyed. The plates on Legion's head rose and fell in an exasperated manner. It holstered the Widow and pulled out the Geth Pulse Rifle, switching the readouts to incendiary ammo. It opened up its omnitool again and tapped a few buttons on the shield readout.

"Overclocking knetic barriers," it said. The shield readout increased to 200% capacity, and Legion stood up and sent a spray of gunfire at a few Collectors. It knelt down again when its shields were quickly whittled down by the relentless attacks from across the room.

Legion's processes switched to Tali. If they were only a front to hold off the Collectors, it was hard to imagine what it was like in the core of the base. It was completely accepting of its own possible death, but the thought of Tali dying was unbearable.

___

"Oh Keelah…" whispered Tali.

"What the hell is that thing?" said Shepard.

Grunt growled, a low, threatening rumble from the back of his throat.

An abomination hung from the ceiling. A disgusting figure of metal and pulsing tubes, mockingly crafted into human form.

Realization dawned on Shepard's face. "It's…"

"A Reaper," came EDI's voice on the three's comlinks. "They have been using the captured colonists to construct a Reaper. This is likely their form of reproduction."

"Is this thing… alive?"

"I cannot say. But I calculate it will take hundreds of thousands of more humans before it is completed."

"They won't have that chance," said Shepard. The Commander pointed upwards at the tubes that the Reaper larva hung from. "Up there. Knock those out, and it'll collapse."

The team trained their guns on the tube, shattering it with a short series of bullets. They destroyed a second tube before a protective casing clamped over the remaining tubes. A squad of Collectors rose from the pit the larva hung over, alighting on the far side of the platform. They fired their weapons at the team, slowly advancing. Shepard and the team ducked behind cover, occasionally standing back up to return fire.

Suddenly, the casing on the tubes slid back. "The Reaper!" shouted Shepard. "Bring it down!" Again the focused their fire on the tubes, destroying another before the casing reappeared over the last one.

"I will see to this matter personally," said an ominous voice. One of the Collectors pitched over and began to glow with a sinister yellow light. "Your efforts are fruitless," it said, standing back up. "We are your genetic destiny."

"Harbinger!" said Shepard. "Focus fire!" The Collector General was capable of possessing its soldiers for a brief period of time, giving them a substantial increase in power.

"Preserve Shepard's body, if possible," it said, shooting an energy blast from its hand. The blast impacted the wall in front of Shepard, bending the air around it.

"When we're done, it's the one who'll need a body," said Grunt, pulling out his huge Claymore shotgun. A unique krogan make, anyone else who tried to use it would likely break their arms. He stood up and fired into Harbinger, filling it with plasma. But the possessed Collector continued to move forwards. Then Shepard stood up and fired another shotgun blast into Harbinger's chest. This time, the Collector shattered into pieces. "Kill one, and a hundred will take its place," promised the voice.

Tali had been focusing her attention on the other Collectors in the area. Just as she downed the last one, the tubes opened again. When the last one shattered, the Reaper larva came crashing down into the bowels of the base. Shepard watched as it fell.

"Good job. Now let's do what we came here for," said the Commander.

Suddenly, the platform lurched. A bony, metal hand grabbed the side of the platform, followed by another. Then the larva pulled itself up. The half-formed eye came to a rest on the three in front of it, and it let out a blood-curdling, inarticulate screech of fury.

Grunt roared in response, the terrifying call of a krogan blood rage.

"Orders, Shepard?" asked Tali.

Shepard pointed at the Reaper larva. "Kill it."

___

The floor shook. Legion watched as Jacob stumbled, throwing off his aim and giving the Collector he was shooting at another second of life. Legion quickly fixed the problem.

"What was that?" asked Jacob.

"It was similar to an earthquake, but without tectonic activity to stimulate such an occurrence, we cannot judge for sure," answered Legion.

"You can just say 'earthquake' next time," said Jacob, putting a new thermal clip in his pistol.

Suddenly, Legion's internal comlink signaled an incoming message. It started; that was a secure link, and it didn't recognize the origin signal. Protocol was clear what to do in a situation like this. But it answered the call anyway.

"Idenitify yourself."

"_Legion? Can you hear me?"_

"Tali'Zorah. We are pleased you are alive. How were you able to enter this frequency?"

"_I hacked it. But that's not important right now .Legion, I don't know what's going-"_

At that point, a loud, metallic screech drowned out Tali's voice.

"_I don't know what's going to happen, Legion! I might not make it out of here! But I want you to know that I love you. And I hope we'll be able to… to be together after this is over."_

Legion determined the chance of mission failure at this point. From its current standpoint, chances of success seemed quite high, with no casualties. But it had no idea what was going on deeper in the base. The synthetic screams coming from the other end of the comlink didn't sound promising.

"There is a 78.365% chance of that scenario occurring."

There was a soft laugh from the other end. _"You really know how to charm a lady." _There was an explosion, followed by a string of expletives. _"Sorry, sorry. Legion, I have to go. We need to finish this."_

Legion paused before closing the communication. "Good luck, Tali'Zorah."

There was a short pause before Tali answered. Her voice sounded thick. _"Thank you, Legion."_ Then the signal closed. Another Collector appeared in Legion's sight, before dropping to the floor with a large hole in its head. Legion had no way to calculate chances of survival with such an unknown variable. The screeching could've been anything from metal rubbing against itself to an unknown hostile.

It took a shot at another Collector, but the Collector ducked behind cover, causing the shot to impact the wall behind it.

It was distracted. Thoughts of Tali'Zorah were detrimental at a time like this, but totally excluding her from its processes seemed… inappropriate.

A stream of fire impacted the shields near its left shoulder, prompting it to duck down.

Thinking about Tali was no use if it was killed. With some hesitation, it moved Tali to secondary processes.

The ensuing four minutes passed quickly.

Another large quake from the center of the base took Legion's attention from combat. The Collectors seemed to hesitate for a moment before attacking with renewed force. Legion holstered the Widow and brought out the Pulse Rifle, firing at the advancing Collectors.

Suddenly, Miranda's voice rang through the chamber. "Fall back!" she called. "Back to the Normandy!"

So the mission was successful, with no casualties. Yet.

Legion took up the rear of the group, running backwards to pepper the pursuing Collectors with gunfire. It didn't know if Tali was alive, and it wouldn't worry about her until it reached the Normandy.

It thought back to the pre-mission briefing. Shepard would plant a timed bomb in the center of the base. It would go off regardless of whether they were there or not, so a hasty escape was the obvious course of action.

The Collectors seemed to realize this, and their attacks increased in ferocity. They no longer seemed to care for their own safety, only the elimination of the intruders. Luckily, the rapid movement by both parties meant that most shots were grossly inaccurate.

The Normandy soon came into view, floating at the end of a short bridge projecting from the side of the base. One by one, the team leapt onto the waiting ship, Legion still at the back of the group. It quickly turned around and scanned the surrounding area for any sign of Shepard, any sign of Tali. Sure enough, Tali's signature purple cloth soon stood out against the brown and grey material of the Collector base.

The Normandy began to drift further away, Joker preparing for a speedy getaway. Grunt leapt first, soon followed by Shepard. Both of them landed in the Normandy's open airlock, relatively unscathed. Legion watched as Tali attempted the jump, but something was wrong. Her initial launch was jerky, and she stumbled at the last second.

Legion watched her as she sailed through the air. It analyzed the situation. Her ankle was acting up again. It had affected her jump. She wasn't going to make it.

Legion watched as she missed the platform. Behind her mask, her face was probably twisted in an expression of terror. Legion jumped off the platform in pursuit, grabbing her flailing arm in one hand and clamping onto the airlock exit with the other.

"Legion!" she gasped. "You-"

"There will be ample time for thanks later." Legion was strong, but not strong enough to hold them both of them for an extended period of time. Luckily, the rest of the crew was there to help them. Legion saw Shepard grab its hand holding the Normandy, who was in turn held by Grunt, Jacob, and Samara.

"Hang on!" said Shepard. Slowly, the group hauled the two upwards.

Legion looked downwards to Tali, who returned its gaze. "We told you there was a high chance of survival."

"I never doubted you."

With the mission over, it was hard to tell what they would do next, thought Legion. Would she want to go back to the Flotilla? Would they stay with Shepard? Would she want to see geth space? In any case, Legion would support her all the way. They would always be together.

A yellow beam impacted Tali's shields. It hadn't occurred to Legion how exposed they were out here. Evidently, a Collector had taken advantage of their position to fire a particle beam. Tali looked out to the Collector, then back up to Legion.

"Hostile fire!" said Legion. "Requesting support!"

"Someone get that Collector!" grunted Shepard.

Thane appeared on the platform, carrying a sniper rifle. He quickly sighted the Collector and fired. Its barriers flashed, and it stumbled momentarily. Thane ejected the thermal clip and fired again, shattering the Collector's shields. Legion noted how the Mantis rifle displayed a noteworthy difference in power as opposed to the Widow.

It was torn away from its mundane observation by Tali's sudden screams. The beam had pierced her shields and was searing her flesh.

"Expedience is required!" said Legion.

Thane was silent, but fired again, finally killing the Collector. With a collective grunt, Legion and Tali were pulled onto the Normandy.

"Get us the hell out of here, Joker!" said Shepard. The airlock door sealed, and the Normandy flew forward. There was an explosion followed by a rumble as the Collector base exploded, but Legion was numb to it all.

"Tali'Zorah?" it said quietly, cradling her body in its arms.

Tali was silent.

It held its auditory receivers to her chest, finding her heartbeat. It flipped her over to inspect her wounds, and saw the beam had seared through her enviro-suit and burnt the skin on her back.

A hand grabbed onto Legion's shoulder; looking up, it saw Shepard standing over it. "She requires medical attention," said Legion.

Shepard nodded. "Let's get her to the medical bay."

Legion carefully stood up, still carrying Tali in its arms. "Two near-death experiences in a short time," it noted. "Hopefully this does not become a persistent occurrence."

___

The doors to the engineering bay opened. Donnelly turned to see Legion walk into the room, much to his surprise. Before, it had only entered to see Tali, and with her in the medical bay…

Daniels nudged him in the ribs. "Don't stare," she hissed.

"I'm not," he protested.

"Kenneth Donnelly. Gabriella Daniels. It is good that you have recovered so quickly," said Legion.

"Well, without you, we'd both be soup by now," said Donnelly. "So thanks for that."

Legion nodded. "It was a collaborative effort."

"So, uh, how's Tali?"

The plates on Legion's head shifted and flicked erratically. "She is badly hurt. Dr. Chakwas is doing what she can."

"She'll pull though," said Daniels. "Remember what happened to Garrus? He survived."

"Creators are not as staunch as turians," said Legion. "In addition to the wounds caused by the Collector particle beam, her suit has been punctured. Chakwas has sealed off the area, but she may still become sick."

Daniels stepped forwards and put a comforting hand on Legion's shoulder. "She'll make it, Legion. I know she will."

Legion's plates rose as if unsure. But it nodded in agreement. "We hope you are correct." It moved away from the engineers, so Donnelly turned back to look at his console.

"I have no idea what to think of that thing," Donnelly whispered.

"What do you mean?" asked Daniels

"It's getting… emotional. You just don't expect that."

"It may be synthetic, but it's as alive as you or me."

Donnelly shrugged. "I just don't think-" Daniels nudged him in the ribs again. "What?"

"It's right there," she whispered, tilting her head to where Tali usually stood. Legion was typing away at the console, seemingly oblivious to their conversation.

"Legion?" said Donnelly.

It stopped typing and turned to face him. "Donnelly."

"What are you doing?"

Legion turned to look at the console. "The Normandy requires a chief engineer."

"We don't really need one, actu-" Daniels nudged him in the ribs for a third time. "Dammit, do you have to do that so much?"

"It's not doing this for the Normandy," she whispered.

Gossip floating around the Normandy came to the forefront of Donnelly's mind. "Right. Never mind Legion, you go right ahead."

"Acknowledged." Legion turned and began to type at the console again.

Donnelly leaned over to Daniels. "A quarian and a geth," he whispered. "Crazy, don't you think?"

Daniels shrugged. "Not really."

"But they're enemies!"

"Guess not."

Donnelly frowned. "You just don't get it."

"I think I know a little more about relationships than you do, Kennth."

"Oh really?"

Legion turned its head slightly towards the two engineers. It watched the exchange with interest.


	10. Chapter 10

Legion had been working for three days straight. Every so often Donnelly or Daniels would leave, but they always came back, whether in a matter of minutes, or hours. Their shifts alternated, but Legion had no need for breaks. It didn't eat, it didn't sleep, all it required was an occasional recharge.

Legion's hand slipped; it hit one of the buttons on the console twice. Its plates flicked into an exasperated expression for a moment before deleting the mistake and moving on.

There was a slight lurch as the Normandy accelerated into FTL speeds. Legion watched as the engine readouts climbed, but remained within acceptable levels. It tapped a few buttons to flush the engine with coolant, and watched as the temperature level dropped. It faltered, and tapped the button again.

"I do not think that is necessary, Legion," said EDI.

Legion tapped another button to annul the last command. "Apologies." It faltered again, and repeated its action. "Apologies," it said, tapping the button again.

"You have been working for an extended amount of time, Legion. I would attribute your errors to a decrease in your power reserves."

"Geth performance is not affected unless power reserves are at a critical level." Legion shook for a moment, and its eye blinked in and out. "-unless power reserves are at a critical level."

"Case in point."

Legion paused and turned to the engineers. "Donnelly, Daniels, will you be able to continue your work without us?"

"Of course, Legion," said Daniels. "Before, we worked without Tali. Nothing we can't handle."

"Acknowledged."

Legion made its way up to the third floor, back to the AI core. A recharge would likely take around five hours, but then the platform would be functional for at least another week. But it stopped in the medical bay, at the foot of Tali's bed.

"Dr. Chakwas, has anyth-thing changed?"

Chakwas rose from her chair, a slight look of concern crossing her face when she heard Legion stutter. "Are you all right?"

Legion nodded. "We requ-qu-quire a recharge. Power reserves are low."

Chakwas's expression returned to one of professional interest as she nodded in return. "Tali is about the same as she was when she got here. She hasn't gotten worse, but she hasn't gotten better."

"What is your diag-agnosis?"

"I honestly can't say. When Garrus arrived, he was in much worse condition, and he survived."

"Tali'Zorah is not turian. Quarians are n-n-not as resilient as other races."

"I wouldn't put it past her. She's survived serious injuries before," said Chakwas, returning to her chair.

Legion stared at Tali's unconscious form for a short while. "As seri-erious as this?"

A frown crossed Chakwas's lips for a moment. "No. But I believe she will survive."

Legion's vision blinked out for a moment, so it decided it was time to move on. "We will require another status update in approximately five hours," said Legion.

"Of course. But you know that it's likely nothing will change."

Legion's gaze lingered on Tali for a moment as it crossed the threshold to the AI core. "Acknowledged."

Legion restarted the moment its power levels reached maximum. It withdrew the power cable form the port in the wall and stood up, running a quick diagnostic over all systems and processes. Once the system reported everything was fine, it was up and out the door.

But it stopped at the foot of Tali's bed. And stared. The plates on its head rose.

"Dr. Chakwas," it said slowly, "where is Tali'Zorah?"

Chakwas smiled. "She's gone."

Legion froze. "Elaborate."

Chakwas's face quickly turned to an expression of surprise. "Oh! I didn't mean that way. She left under her own power."

"So she has recovered?"

"I should say so."

The plates on Legion's head slowly settled in an expression of relief. "Do you know where she has gone?"

"I would imagine she left for the engine room."

"Acknowledged." Legion made towards the door, its step quickened the smallest bit, before Chakwas called out again.

"Legion, I thought you might want to know: when Tali first woke up, the first thing she did was go into the core and make sure you were okay."

Legion stopped, and contemplated the fact. The simulated emotions flared, but Legion was unable to exactly place what they were. "Acknowledged."

It left the room, heading towards the elevator, but it stopped a few feet from the transport. Down the corridor, it saw the hooded head, the full body covering, the dark colors, and the feminine form. It moved forwards, not bothering to reach a consensus.

"Tali'Zorah." it said, approaching the figure from behind and placing a hand on its shoulder. "We are pleased to see you are okay."

"Hm? I think you have the wrong person." said an unfamiliar voice.

Legion quickly pulled its hand away and stepped back, plates rising in surprise. "You are not Tali'Zorah."

The figure turned. She was dressed similarly to Tali, but there was no mistaking them from the front. "No, I'm Kasumi Goto. Pleased to me-" She stopped. Her eyes were covered by her hood, but Legion could see her oddly colored lips frown in surprise. "You're a geth," she said. "Shep didn't say anything about a geth on this ship."

"Shepard-Commander places a high concern on unit cohesion. There may have been suspicion that you would not react favorably to our presence," said Legion, reverting to its typical logical manner.

Kasumi shrugged. "I'm just a little surprised, that's all. Now, don't let me keep you waiting. You seem pretty eager to see this… Tali, right?"

"Yes."

"I think Shep mentioned something about that name. A quarian, right? The ship's chief engineer?"

"Yes."

Kasumi brought her hand to her chin and smiled. Her eyes glittered under the shadow of her hood. "Interesting. I suppose I'll see you around…?" She looked at it expectantly.

"The crew of the Normandy refers to this platform as Legion."

"Right then, Legion. See you later." She smiled again. "Good luck." With that, she moved through the door to the portside observation, and out of sight. Legion walked back to the elevator. Its processes were telling it it was supposed to feel somewhat embarrassed. It was not a pleasant sensation.

Donnelly and Daniels were both standing in their usual spots when Legion arrived, but Tali was nowhere to be seen.

"Engineer Donnelly, Engineer Daniels. Have you seen Tali'Zorah?" said Legion

"Yeah, she right over there," said Donnelly, pointing further down the engineering bay. Tali was standing at a small outcropping that opened up into the ship's drive core.

Legion hesitated. There was no telling what would happen. But there was no point in turning back now.

Tali didn't turn as Legion approached. It assumed place next to her, hands resting on the railing.

The two were silent for a time. Finally, Tali broke the silence. "It's impressive, isn't it?"

"The engine aboard the Normandy is an extremely impressive and advanced piece of technology," said Legion.

Tali glanced over at Legion. "Not as impressive as you, of course."

Legion considered this. The eezo-powered, FTL drive, coupled with stealth capabilities was actually far more impressive than what was effectively a mobile computer. But saying that was not a good course of action.

The two stood in silence for a while longer. "That's the third time you've saved me," said Tali.

"Four, if you would count the escape from the pirate prison cell," said Legion.

"I've only saved you once," said Tali, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Yes."

There were another few moments of silence. Tali sighed and leaned on Legion's shoulder. "You're not easy to have a conversation with."

"Apologies."

Tali laughed. "You don't need to apologize."

"Acknowledged."

Tali sighed again, but was silent for a few moments. "I was scared, Legion."

"Clarify."

"Aboard the Collector ship. Fighting the Reaper larva. Hanging there, just before the Normandy. I thought I was never going to see you again. I was afraid that right after we started, it'd be over."

"We experienced similar sensations. You were unconscious for four days. Every moment, we knew you might cease living." It looked over at her. "But you did not. It is pointless to fixate on what could have happened."

"You're right," she murmured, sliding her hands around Legion's midsection. "I just need to look at what I have now. You." She pressed her head into Legion's chest. "I love you."

Legion slowly replicated her actions, placing its arms around her. "We love you, Tali'Zorah."

They stood there for a moment before Tali broke off the embrace. "Let's go up to your room. I want to show you something."

Possibilities buzzed through Legion's mind. Some of them were unpleasant. "Will you tell us what you are planning?"

"What would be the fun in that?" asked Tali.

Legion felt the eyes of the engineers on it and Tali as they left the engineering bay. Donnelly whispered something to Daniels, who punched him in the arm.

Chakwas glanced up as the pair entered, but quickly returned her eyes to her work. Legion found her silence odd.

Tali sat in the alcove at the end n the AI core, and Legion followed suit.

"You know intimacy is difficult for quarians," said Tali.

A metaphorical warning light flashed in Legion's head. "It is dangerous as well."

"And with you, well, I don't really expect anything, to be honest." She shrugged. "But I just want you to see, to see me without all…" she gestured to her suit. "Without all of this."

"We know what quarians look like underneath their enviro-suits."

"Not all quarians look the same…" she trailed off, then straightened up visibly. "I didn't mean my entire body," she said.

The light in Legion's head went off. "Acknowledged."

"I mean, I don't think it'd do anything for you, or me either. There's really no point, unless you were really curious, but I don't think you are." She paused. "Are you?"

"No."

"Well, that's good, because I wasn't entirely comfortable with that either, but I figured that with you I wouldn't really have to since you don't expect anything and I don't either." She shook her head. "I'm sorry I just keep talking but I'm just sort of nervous and when I get nervous I just can't shut up."

"Acknowledged."

"I was thinking about this, before, on the Collector ship. I was afraid the meaning of it might be lost on you."

"We comprehend emotions, both yours and our approximation of what is correct for the situation. We understand that intimacy is difficult for Creators. They spend their lives within enviro-suits, closed off from many avenues of contact. Even acts as simple as a kiss could be dangerous, or fatal."

"Wow, that was… well-phrased."

"We are quoting from an extranet article."

Tali laughed. "I should have guessed. But I know the risks, and I want to prove to you, to myself, that this means something. That this isn't some stupid, pointless crush. That what I'm feeling is real. Do you understand?"

It did. She was still unsure. That was understandable, as it was incapable of returning her affection outside of its emotionless voice and simple physical displays of affection. She was sacrificing a lot for this relationship. "Yes. But are you sure?"

"I wasn't, at first. But… I am now." Tali reached up to a spot beneath her jaw and removed the seals from her mask. Legion heard a hiss of air as her suit depressurized and her mask came away.

Quarians had little in the way of genetic diversity. Most of them looked very similar to one another. Legion already knew this, and suspected Tali did too. But she wasn't doing this so it could see what she looked like. What she was doing was a sign of deep trust.

"Well?" she asked.

"You are…" Legion searched for an appropriate word. "Beautiful."

Tali blushed, a reaction which was amplified by the quarian's pale skin. "You're only saying that. To you, beautiful is a bunch of chips and wires, I bet," she teased.

Legion shook its head. "We have compared your face to a number of other quarians and the general reaction to their levels of attractiveness. You are beautiful."

Tali laughed. "Oh, Legion. You're so sweet, in a weird, mechanical way." She leaned forwards and kissed Legion on its eye. The plates on Legion's head rose and fell in response.

"We cannot return your gesture," it said, picking up Tali's mask. "But we would if it were possible." It held Tali's mask to her face, and gave a small nod. "It is not wise to expose yourself for an extended amount of time."

"I think I'd be pretty safe on the Normandy," said Tali, shrugging. "The environment's enclosed, and pretty sterile. But…" She took the mask and placed it over her face. There was another hiss as her suit pressurized. "If it'll make you feel better."

"Thank you."

Tali leaned over on Legion, and the two sat there, enjoying each other's company.

There was another silence, but it was Legion who broke it. "Have you given any thought as to our next course of action?"

"What do you mean?"

"This assignment is complete. But the overall mission is not. Have you decided what you wish to do next?"

"Well, Shepard still needs us. And we'll help any way we can."

"There are a variety of ways to assist Shepard-Commander. Not all of them are aboard the Normandy. The Reapers will arrive. Shepard-Commander cannot battle them alone. It will require an army, likely formed from many of the species in the galaxy."

"You want us to go out and try and recruit people? We're not Shepard; I doubt any governments will give us resources if we ask."

"We did not mean to go out among species we did not have an understanding of."

Tali paused. "You want to convince the Flotilla to fight against the Reapers?"

Legion considered this. "No. But if you wish to, we will follow."

"How do we know Shepard would even want this?"

"We have overheard conversations with Miranda Lawson. They have agreed on the need for an army. They have also agreed diplomacy is an effective way to procure one. Faced with factual evidence of an imminent threat, it would be foolhardy for a planet not to agree."

"The Council doesn't believe the 'Reapers' exist," she said, punctuating the word "Reapers" with finger quotes. She thought back in disgust to the turian councilor.

"We know they are incorrect."

"We don't have any proof."

"This will not be an easy task."

Tali was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Legion, what do you want to do?"

"Our current task is to assist Shepard-Commander. If we may do so with you, we will."

Tali sat up straight and crossed her arms, thinking. "The flotilla is the biggest collection of ships in the galaxy…" she admitted. "There's a lot of firepower there. And noncombatants could be put on the ships too old to battle, I guess." She nodded. "I think we should do that Legion. We'll talk to the Admiralty Board. Try to convince them of the coming war."

"Perhaps, with our assistance, there could be peace between Creators and geth."

Tali shrugged. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She leaned back against Legion and took a long, contented breath. "Yes, that's what we'll do. Together, we'll go to the flotilla, and convince them to fight the Reapers. We'll need to disguise you, though. Make you a name, some ID, maybe."

"Anywhere you go, we will follow."

"I know, Legion, I know."

The two sat in silence for a long time. Eventually, Legion recognized Tali's slowed breathing as a sign she had fallen asleep.

It checked its reserve power. There was still a large amount left, but maybe a short charge would be helpful. It drew the cable from its back and plugged it into the wall. Then, it went into hibernation.

The two lay there for a long time, totally at peace with themselves, and each other.


End file.
